Composite materials are important to advancements in these industries because they combine the strength of fibres with the resilience of plastics. Commonly used in the aerospace sector, composites are now becoming more widely used in areas like construction (to make whole bridges, for example) and for lighter, larger and stronger wind turbines. The projects are in collaboration with the Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation (IACMI) and their partner companies and universities in the US.

The projects being funded are led by innovative UK composites producers, working in partnership with universities and leading research and technology organisations such as TWI and HVM Catapult Centres such as the National Composites Centre and the Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre

Simon Edmonds, Innovate UK’s, Deputy Executive Chair and Chief Business Officer

The projects are funded in the UK by the Fund for International Collaboration (FIC), which is designed to support the UK to form new and strengthen existing, bilateral partnerships for research and innovation with leading nations with a reputation for excellence. US funding has been provided by the US Department of Energy, State governments and private industry.

The seven projects, including their respective UK and USA partners, are in brief:

• CADFEC: Fibre Engineered Composites, for car components: Aston Martin and Expert Tooling and Automation, based in Coventry. U.S. partners include DowAksa, Dow Chemical, and Purdue University
• TACOMA: X-ray scanning for high-speed inspection of Automotive composite parts: TWI, Cambridge. U.S. partners include American Chemistry Council and Michigan State University
• HIPPAC: Advanced composites for stronger, lighter wind-turbine blades: Fibreforce Composites, Runcorn; Brunel University. U.S. partners include National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, GE Energy, and Montefibre
• FibreSteer: Fibre shaping for stronger aerospace components: iComat (a University of Bristol spin-out company), National Composites Centre (part of HVM Catapult) and Airbus. U.S. partners include Airbus Americas and University of Dayton Research Institute
• FibreLoop: Re-cycling carbon fibre production waste into new high-value components: NetComposites, Chesterfield; Far-UK, Nottingham and the Advanced Materials Research Centre (part of HVM Catapult). U.S. partners include Vartega, BASF, Michelman, and Michigan State University
• ENACT: Polymer layering for ‘overmoulding’, allowing more sophisticated design for complex parts: Surface Generation, Rutland, and Nottingham University. U.S. partner is Michigan State University
• TexTape: Trying to substantially reduce the costs of carbon fibre thermoplastics: Composites Evolution, Chesterfield, and National Composites. US partner is Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

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Inside features a bespoke diamond patterned satin chrome aluminium jewellery pack that sits amongst the obsidian black leather. Carbon fibre machined from solid to create a technical finish clads the central console and door inserts, while a single piece of herringbone carbon fibre can be found throughout the floor of the car’s storage area.

The DBX’s cabin is a unique carbon fibre finish used for the car’s floating centre console and door trims. The central piece is machined from a solid block consisting of 280 individual layers of carbon fibre, laid meticulously by hand. After a 12-hour curing process, 90-hours of five-axis milling are required to deliver the stunning finish shown today.

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For over 25 years Dow Automotive has supplied Aston Martin with its range of structural adhesives, customising them to meet a wide range of open time and cure time requirements and bond many different materials, including electro-coated steel, anodised aluminium, carbon fibre and glass fibre reinforced composites.

Most recently, on the DB11, a structural adhesive was developed to adhere to anodised aluminium, providing long-term durability and improved crash performance. The adhesive also absorbs less moisture and enabled Aston Martin to delete the anodising oven drying process, resulting in annual energy savings.

The company’s glass bonding systems are also used to bond front, rear and side glazing as well as bonding the Vanquish carbon fibre composite roof. Polyurethane body sealant is also used for primer-less adhesion to a variety of substrates.

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Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, Marek Reichman, Aston Martin EVP and Chief Creative Officer and David King worked closely on all aspects of the project, and have created a vehicle to be entirely useable and enjoyable as a road car, but with the capability to perform on a race track. For those who crave an even more intensely focused driving experience, a track-only ‘AM-RB 001′ is also in development, the projected performance of which is in line with that of today’s LMP1 le mans sports prototypes.

Built around a lightweight carbon fibre structure, the AM-RB 001 boasts truly radical aerodynamics for unprecedented levels of downforce in a road-legal car. Thanks to the Newey’s design much of this downforce is generated through underfloor aerodynamics.

To cope with the extreme aerodynamic loadings at high speeds yet deliver the on-road usability and comfort levels that sit at the heart of the concept, the AM-RB 001’s suspension system will feature innovative technology, likewise, the transmission is a clean-sheet design conceived by Newey and developed by Red Bull Advanced Technologies.

The AM-RB 001 is a bespoke machine from the tyres up. It will be built by David King and his team at Gaydon, in the purpose-built facility created for Aston Martin’s original hypercar, the One–77. More details of the AM-RB 001‘s technical specification will be revealed in due course, but its heart is a new, mid-mounted, high-revving, naturally aspirated V12 engine with the potency to achieve a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio; 1 bhp per kilo of weight.

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Codenamed Project ‘AM-RB 001’, the new hyper car will represent the ultimate blend of cutting edge F1 technology with Aston Martin’s signature sports car design. Combining the strongest elements of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin, this new Innovation Partnership unites some of the best aerodynamicists, composite experts and manufacturing masters.

Speaking with Drive before the Australian Grand Prix, Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer revealed that the new partnership with Red Bull Racing, will influence the design of all future Aston Martin road cars, including the new Vanquish, scheduled for launch after the new hyper car arrives in 2018.

Some of the technologies we are developing with Red Bull Technologies and Adrian Newey will undoubtedly flow through to the next Vanquish, It is at a sufficiently high price point where it can absorb some of these technologies—not all, but I am particularly interested in structural carbon fibre and KERS type technology that you could easily see working in that car.

While he has yet to reveal a price for the AM-RB 001 (it is predicted to sell for around $5million), Palmer expects that a portion of them will never be driven with collectors set to store or display them.

Aston Martin plans to launch at least one all-new model and two special edition offerings every year. Next year is predicted to mark the arrival of the new Vantage, which is expected to draw elements from the DB10 sports car developed for the James Bond Spectre movie.

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Aston Martin has partnered with Quintessence yachts to create the 37 foot vessel and features a high-tech carbon fibre composite structure. The AM37 will be available in two models, a classic “gran truism” powerboat and will feature a top speed of around 44 knots, while the AM37 S will reach 52 knots and will be optimised to give a full on sports experience.

Inside, the cabin will be a mixture of sculptured wood and hand stitched leather, the high tech dash will have a HD interactive touch screen monitor and will support interactive voice controls.

The yacht’s design is still yet to be fully unveiled and is scheduled to debut at the Monaco Yacht Show in September.

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The Vulcan uses the latest cutting edge engineering methods including that sourced from the company’s own GT racing campaign, the car features a carbon fibre monocoque and body constructed by Aston Martin’s specialist body engineering and manufacturing partner Multimatic, integral limited-slip differential, magnesium torque tube with carbon fibre propeller shaft and Brembo racing calipers acting on carbon ceramic racing disc brakes.

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Drive is channelled to the rear racing tyres through a race-bred rear mid-mounted Xtrac six-speed sequential shift gearbox. The track-derived pushrod suspension with anti-dive geometry is used with Multimatic’s Dynamic Suspension Spool Valve (DSSV) adjustable dampers and anti-roll bars front and rear, driver-adjustable anti-lock braking, and variable traction control.

[padding type=”small_left”][quote_colored name=”” icon_quote=”no”]The cars will blend our traditional Aston Martin values of Power, Beauty and Soul with an unrivalled ownership experience; a unique combination that will guarantee their place in the brand’s rich and charismatic history[/quote_colored][/padding]

The last thing you want to be doing after taking ownership of your very expensive car is embedding it into armco at the first corner, so before you even get into the Vulcan, Aston will lay on some extensive driver training. Along with some time in the simulator they’ll also get on-track training from Astons very own version of the Stig.

With the price set at around £1.5 million, only 24 of these cars are planned for production, more performance data  together with further technical details will be released closer to its track debut later in the year. The car will make its full debut at this years Geneva International motor show next month, in the mean time check out these dribble inducing pics to wet your appetite.

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Under the carbon fibre sits a new version of the 6.0-litre V12 engine which is capable of generating up to 592bhp. The car sits lower and wider than any other Vantage and the GT12 features a wider track along with super grippy Michelin sports tyres. An all new race inspired body incorporates a large rear wing that Aston says will significantly improve the downforce at high speeds.

The new GT12 weights in around 100kgs less than its overweight brother, the Vantage V12 S. In order to slim the car down, Aston Martin designers used lightweight materials such as carbon fibre, magnesium, titanium and aluminium.

The exterior of the GT12, is dripping from carbon fibre composites, nearly everything from the new flared front wings, bonnet, and door casings have been made from the black stuff and if you’ve got a few quid left over you can splash out on the aerodynamics pack, which includes an optional carbon fibre roof, rear wing and front splitter along with weight-saving polycarbonate rear window and rear quarter windows. Add all this together and you have a car that weights in at just over 1,500 kilos.

The car’s interior has also been introduced to the black stuff, with a full carbon fibre centre stack and touch-sensitive control array; race-derived carbon fibre sports seats; Alcantara trim and the option of numerous bespoke features courtesy of the brand’s popular personalisation service.

The car will make its debut at this years Geneva Motor Show and will cost you around £250,000 if they had any left.

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The 6.0-litre V12-powered concept car made its world debut by completing a lap of the famous Nordschleife at Germany’s ADAC Zurich 24 Hours of Nürburgring race lapping the circuit together with the 1000km race-winning 1959 DBR1 with British racing legend Sir Stirling Moss at the wheel. It is the most tangible expression yet of the brand’s year-long 2013 centenary celebrations.

Viewed by tens of thousands of spectators in Germany, the speedster was driven by Aston Martin CEO Dr Ulrich Bez.

CC100 is the epitome of everything that is great about Aston Martin. It represents our fantastic sporting heritage, our exceptional design capability, our superb engineering know-how and, above all, our adventurous spirit!

Designed and constructed in fewer than six months at Aston Martin’s global headquarters in Gaydon, working with key supplier Multimatic Inc, under the leadership of Special Projects and Motorsport Director David King, the finished look of the two-seater CC100 is the work of Design Director Marek Reichman working alongside the brand’s Chief Exterior Designer Miles Nurnberger.

The brief for the team was to create something that reflects something that reflects the 100 years of Aston Martin so far but also the future of the brand

 
 
 
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The idea of an iconic speedster concept that nods to the Le Mans- and Nürburgring-winning cars of 1959 soon came, and we have had complete freedom to shape this car

Measuring almost four and a half metres nose to tail, and more than two metres wide (including mirrors) the Speedster Concept body is a classic example of the almost infinitely flexible nature of Aston Martin’s trademark Vertical Horizontal engineering philosophy.

With a body and interior crafted from carbon fibre, tooled and provided by low volume specialists Multimatic, the CC100 utilises the latest generation AM11 naturally aspirated V12 gasoline engine mated to a six-speed hydraulically actuated automated sequential manual transmission. Controlled via steering column-mounted paddle shifts the lightweight ‘box delivers truly sporting changes perfectly suited to the Speedster’s track-focused nature.

The drivetrain will power the CC100 from rest to 62 mph in a little over four seconds, while the top speed is limited to 180 mph.

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Aston Martin has revealed full details of its latest enhancements to the iconic DB9

The latest iteration of the DB9 doesn’t change much on the outside, but under the bonnet they’ve taken the 5.9 litre V12 up to 510bhp with 457 kb-ft of torque. A large lower front grille feeds air into the standard Carbon Ceramic Braking system, while the front splitter also serves to visually widen the car.

As you would expect from any modern sports car these days, carbon fibre is not too far away, the new Aston comes with 2 additional carbon fibre add-on packs which include a carbon fibre front splitter and rear diffuser, carbon fibre mirror arms and caps and dark tailpipes with a graphitic finish for the exterior, and for the interior a carbon fibre upper facia, carbon fibre gear selector paddles and carbon fibre door pulls.

The DB9 13MY is available to order now through Aston Martin dealers worldwide, with the first cars making their market debuts in UK and Western Europe in October. Prices are confirmed as £131,995 (UK RRP); €174,994 (German RRP); $185,400 (USA MSRP); and 21,995,000 JPY (Japan RRP).

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