Aston Martin’s hypercar collaboration project with Red Bull is set to continue, despite the pair concluding their partnership in Formula 1 at the end of the 2020 season.
The British luxury car maker announced today that Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll had bought a £182 million, 20 per cent stake in the company, which will see his Racing Point F1 team rebranded Aston Martin from 2021.
It will bring an end to the four-year-old Aston Martin Red Bull Racing partnership that has achieved 12 F1 race wins and 50 podiums.
However, Red Bull Advanced Technologies (Red Bull Racing’s technological and engineering department for external clients) has announced that it will continue to work with Aston Martin on the Valkyrie hypercar project.
The ultra-exclusive road car is in the final stages of development, with the first batch of 150 road cars due to be delivered to customers at the end of the year. It will feature a Formula 1-inspired hybrid powertrain, with an electric motor and battery system developed by EV experts Rimac mated to a 6.5-litre V12 petrol engine, promising a combined output of 1,160bhp and 900Nm of torque.
Stroll’s investment in the company has put an end to weeks of speculation. Chairwoman Penny Hughes said Aston Martin’s “difficult trading performance in 2019” put severe pressure on its liquidity and left the company with “no alternative” but to secure significant investment.