1989 Aston Martin AMR1 - Images, Specifications and Information

Model history:

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Like many other small manufacturers, Aston Martin withdrew from racing in the early 1960s. The arrival of the big manufacturers and their massive marketing budgets made it virtually impossible for a company the size of Aston Martin to compete. A good example of this 'corporate racing' was the Le Mans effort of the Ford Motor Company, eventually resulting in four victories. Ran by John Wyer, Aston Martin's racing effort ended on a high, with a World Sportscar Championship and a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959.

In the following decades Aston Martin's sales continued to benefit from the company's rich racing heritage, but the urge to return to racing grew stronger over the years. In 1967 Aston Martin briefly supplied their new V8 engine to Lola, to be installed in the T70 coupe. The brand-new engines proved to be a reliability disaster and were quickly abandoned in favour of Chevrolet V8 power. Heavily modified production Aston Martins raced at Le Mans from 1977 - 1979, with little success. Responsible for these was Aston Martin enthusiast and dealer Robin Hamilton.

Hamilton was also responsible for Aston Martin's first serious racing effort of the 1980s. Faith was tempted as Hamilton combined a Lola chassis with the Aston Martin V8 once more. Pace Petroleum, for 50% owner of Aston Martin at the time, decided to back the project, but the Aston Martin name was never used. The car became known as the Nimrod. Tickford was responsible for the engine preparation Late in 1981 the Nimrod made its debut, the Lola chassis was fitted with a 1977 spec version of the V8.

With the introduction of Group C in 1982, the Nimrods made their racing debut. Throughout its four year career, the Tickford prepared engine was the cause of many premature race endings. In its first 24 Hours of Le Mans race, one of the Nimrods finished fifth, running on five cylinders. In 1983 a second team, EMKA, founded by Pink Floyd manager Steve O'Rourke, jumped on the Aston Martin bandwagon. The two teams were joined by the advanced Cheetah in 1984. All teams had one thing in common; poor (engine) reliability let them down. All teams stopped running the V8 engine after 1985.

To the surprise of many, Aston Martin decided to construct a completely new Group C racer, half-way through 1986. For the third time an attempt would be made to turn the V8 engine into a successful sports car powerplant. Development of the brand-new quad cam version of the engine was handled by Reeves Callaway's Connecticut, USA based company. Development of the new car was headed by Ecurie Ecosse, who had previously scored two Le Mans victories with privately entered Jaguar D-Types.

When Ford's acquisition of 75% of Aston Martin Lagonda's stock was announced in September 1987, many feared for the future of the project. Ford did not interfere and in October 1988, the AMR1 was shown to the Newport Pagnell workers for the first time. Liveried in white, red and blue, the AMR1 featured sponsor markings of Mobil 1 and Goodyear. s/n AMR1 / 01 made its first run in November of the same year and it was ready to make its debut in 1989. Aston Martin officially returned to prototype racing, thirty years after the team's most successful season.

No expense was spared in designing the chassis for the AMR1. Chief designer was Max Boxstrom, a former Brabham employee. The coke-bottle shaped monocoque was from very lighter materials; carbon fibre for the tub, kevlar for the skins and aluminium honeycomb for the floors. The most characteric exterior features were the large air ducts behind the front wheels, designed to get rid of the air from the large nose mounted wing. Suspension was by double wishbones all-round while stopping power was initially provided by steel vented and cross-drilled discs.

Early in April 1988, the V8 engines were running on the Callaway test-benches. The first engines displaced 5.3 litres, similar to the production version. Later in the year, a 6 litre version was ready. The first produced around 570 bhp and the second was good for 680 to 700 bhp in race trim. It was mounted semi-stressed and canted forward to make room for large underbody venturis. Unusually, the radiator was mounted on top of the 5-speed gearbox and under the rear wing.

Teething problems dogged the team throughout the preparation and the AMR1 was badly damaged in a crash. This resulted in the team missing the first race of the season. A lighter second car was constructed for the second race of the season, it survived the race and finished on the 17th spot. For Le Mans a third car was ready and the AMR1 / 02 and AMR1 / 03 were entered in the gruelling 24 Hours race. The speed wasn't there yet, but Roe, Los and Redman managed to reach the finish in AMR1 / 02 in 11th spot. Both cars entered featured a black band on the left wing to honour former Aston Martin team principle John Wyer, who died in April of that year.

A fourth car was constructed and entered in the Brands Hatch race. Leslie and Redman managed to secure a fourth place finish, underlining the progress made in development. Much of that development work was directed to saving weight. With good results; the overall weight was down by over 60 kg from the beginning of the season. A final fifth car was constructed and raced in the last race of the season at Mexico. Almost 100 kg lighter than the first example, AMR1 / 05 featured an updated, more powerful version of the V8 but it could do no better than seventh

Having just added Jaguar to the stable, the Ford Motor Company now owned two complete Group C programs. The decision to axe one did not come as a surprise. The executives understandably chose to continue the program that had already brought results and had the best chance of once again scoring win. This brought a premature end to Aston Martin's racing efforts and left the proposed AMR2 and AMR3 racing cars stillborn. With progress clearly being made, it is not inconceivable that the campaign would have eventually grown into a competitive effort but sadly we will never know.

Chassis: AMR1 / 03

Aston Martin's two car entry for the 24 Hours of Le Mans race came into jeopardy when the first chassis was destroyed during testing. At the very last minute (literally) chassis 03 was completed in the team's pit box at the French track. The first practice sessions were nothing more than shakedown tests for the brand new AMR1. Piloted by David Leslie, Ray Mallock and David Sears, chassis 03 only made it until the tenth hour when electrical problems caused a retirement. This was also the end of the chassis' contemporary racing career as the team campaigned the newer, lighter examples in the remainder of the season. Since then the ex-Le Mans chassis has seen very little action, being used mostly for static display. In 2004 it was offered by Christie's at their Le Mans Classic auction and changed hands for nearly 300,000 Euro.

Chassis: AMR1 / 05

Chassis 05 is the final development of AMR1, weighing in at just 906 kg, packing the 'Generation II' 700 bhp engine and sporting carbon ceramic disc brakes. It was campaigned at the Donnington and Mexico rounds of the Sports Car World Championship. Although a big step forward, the lightweight AMR1 could do no better than a 7th and 8th respectively. After its retirement from racing, chassis 05 was retained by one of the program's original backers and company chairman Peter Livanos. He sold the car to the current owner in 2001. Since then it has been fully restored to full running order and has become a regular competitor in the Historic Group C and GTP championship. The ultimate AMR1 can often be found near or at the head of the field. It is shown here during the 2008 Le Mans Legends race, the 2007 Goodwood Festival of Speed and the 2006 Silverstone Classic.