Aston Martin: Best shot at Le Mans glory

The AMR-One LMP1 is designed to break the dominance of Audi and Peugeot diesels with a turbocharged 2-litre six-cylinder direct-injection unit. Photo / Supplied

British marque Aston Martin is aiming for glory at the Le Mans 24-hour race this year with the AMR-One LMP1 racer, a surprise petrol-powered package designed to break the dominance of the Audi and Peugeot diesels.

The new car is powered by a turbocharged 2-litre six-cylinder direct-injection unit delivering about 400kW, the first sign that Aston Martin will bring back the straight-six engine to power its road cars.

Chief executive Dr Ulrich Bez hinted recently that a straight-six engine was among Aston's future plans.

"We wouldn't look for a six-cylinder Aston for at least another five years, but the idea of a turbocharged, six-cylinder Vantage-style baby Aston does pique our interest," he said.

Bez said that a six-cylinder unit for a road car would likely be of 2.5-litre capacity with direct-injection and a turbocharger.

Aston's silky inline-sixes have defined the brand for decades, beginning with the DB2 in 1950 right up to entry-level DB7 models in the 1990s.

The first DB7 was launched with a supercharged 3.2-litre inline six. Aston replaced it later in the model's life with a V12 unit. Sales of the supercharged six soon dried up and it went out of production in 1999.

The AMR-One is a radical design departure, using an open cockpit layout instead of the old Lola-Aston Martin LMP1's closed coupe configuration. It weighs 900kg.

Aston executives are confident the new 24-valve, 2-litre powerplant will deliver a winning blend of efficiency and power and give the team its best shot yet of taking honours at Le Mans.

Power is fed to the rear wheels via a six-speed transverse semi-automatic pneumatic shift, Xtrac racing gearbox.

"We have chosen this engine as we feel it offers the best potential within the regulations," said team principal George Howard-Chappell.

"With the organisers' commitment to balance the performance of petrol and diesel entrants, we have high hopes for close racing in the LMP1 category."

The race car has been developed by Aston Martin Racing for a new bespoke carbon-fibre chassis, based around the carbon-fibre architecture of the $2.6 million road-going One-77 supercar.

AMR chairman David Richards said: "Just like the road cars, the AMR-One has been elegantly engineered, where simplicity runs throughout to produce what we expect to be a competitive and reliable endurance racer."

Six AMR-One examples will be built, with the factory team running one car at Le Mans and two cars at selected events in Europe, the United States and China.

"Aston Martin's heritage is deeply rooted in endurance sports car racing," said Bez. "In 2011 we take the next step demonstrating that a small team using advanced design and engineering intelligence will be agile and competitive."

The AMR-One engine points the way to a new unit for the next generation of Aston's road cars. It will be cleaner and more powerful than the long-lived 6-litre V12, which will fall foul of emissions regulations without significant development.

The fact that the racing engine features direct injection, which has negligible benefits in a race car, is seen as a sure sign that Aston is looking to downsize.