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The Aston Martin AMR1 was a
Group C Group C was a category of sports car racing introduced by the FIA in 1982 and continuing until 1993, with ''Group A'' for touring cars and ''Group B'' for GTs. It was designed to replace both Group 5 special production cars (closed top touri ...
formula
racing car Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition. Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
developed in 1989 for car manufacturer
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
. It participated in the
1989 World Sports Prototype Championship The 1989 World Sportscar Championship season was the 37th season of FIA World Sportscar Championship motor racing. It featured the 1989 FIA World Sports Prototype Championship, which was open to Group C, Group C1 Sports Prototypes, Group C, Grou ...
and
1989 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1989 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 57th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 10 and 11 June 1989. Race The race was the last time the 24 Hours of Le Mans ran without the two chicanes on the Mulsanne Straight; for the interest of safety t ...
.


Design

Following Aston Martin's racing efforts as an engine supplier for Nimrod Racing and
EMKA Racing EMKA Racing was a British racing team founded in 1980 by Steve O'Rourke, manager of the band Pink Floyd. The team occasionally ran under the name of EMKA Productions, the name of O'Rourke's management company. The team's name comes from O'Rourke' ...
in the early 1980s, it was decided that Aston Martin would develop their own car for the
World Sports Prototype Championship The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992. The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and Nort ...
. Thus in late 1987, a partnership between Peter Livanos, Victor Gauntlett, Richard Williams and Ray Mallock - through his shareholding in Scottish racing firm
Ecurie Ecosse Ecurie Ecosse (French: "Scotland Stable") was a motor racing team from Edinburgh, Scotland. The team was founded in November 1951 by Edinburgh businessman and racing driver David Murray and mechanic Wilkie Wilkinson. Its most notable achieveme ...
would be formed, creating a new company known as Proteus Technology Ltd. (Protech). The team would develop and run the AMR1 project, competing for the first time during the 1989 season. Richard Williams was named as the organisations managing director and team manager. Ray Mallock was engineering director, with him, Max Boxstrom would be the lead designer and Reeves Callaway, of
Callaway Cars Incorporated Callaway Cars Inc. is an American specialty vehicle manufacturer and engineering company that designs, develops, and manufactures high-performance product packages for cars, pickup trucks, and SUVs. They specialize in Corvettes and GM vehicles. N ...
, would build the engine. The chassis and bodywork designed by Boxstrom would be built by British firm Courtaulds. For the engine, Callaway would use 5.3 L V8 units from the newly launched Virage, ending up with a 6.0 L engine known as the RDP87. The engine was fitted with a 100 litre fuel cell with a 6.5 litre reserve for extra range. With this combination, a total of four AMR1 chassis would be finished in early 1989.


Racing history

With AMR1/01 completed, testing began in preparation for the first race at
Suzuka Circuit The , more famously known as the , is a long motorsport race track located in Ino, Suzuka, Mie, Suzuka City, Mie Prefecture, Japan and operated by Honda Mobilityland, a subsidiary of Honda, Honda Motor Co, Ltd. It has a capacity of 155,000. Int ...
in Japan. Unfortunately, AMR1/01 was involved in an accident during testing at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
and was damaged beyond repair. Thus Aston Martin was forced to skip the first round, incurring a $250,000 fine by FIA's newly amended rule which required C1 cars to enter all round of the season and instead premiered chassis AMR1/01 at
Dijon-Prenois Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends. Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Pr ...
, where it finished a disappointing 17th. Although not part of the World Sports Prototype Championship in 1989, Aston Martin next turned to the
24 Hours of Le Mans The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
. Two cars were entered, chassis #01 and #03. The cars unfortunately were underpowered in comparison to their competitors, qualifying 32nd and 40th in a field of 56 cars. During the race itself, the cars were able to run in the mid-pack before AMR1/03 suffered electrical problems and was forced to retire during the first half of the race. AMR1/01 was able to continue on, was able to finish in 11th place overall. Due to a lack of time between Le Mans and the 3rd round of the World Sports Prototype Championship, Aston Martin decided to skip it, returning instead at
Brands Hatch Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England, United Kingdom. Originally used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently host ...
where AMR1/04 took home an exciting 4th-place finish in front of the British crowd, then following it up with an 8th-place finish at the
Nürburgring The is a 150,000 person capacity motorsports complex located in the town of Nürburg, Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. It features a Formula One, Grand Prix race track built in 1984, and a long "North loop" track, built in the 1920s, around t ...
. For the 6th round of the year, the World Sports Prototype Championship again returned to British soil. Aston Martin therefore decided to run two AMR1s at
Donington Park Donington Park is a motorsport circuit located near Castle Donington in Leicestershire, England. The circuit business is now owned by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation, and the surrounding Donington Park Estate, still owned b ...
, debuting newly built chassis #05. The two cars were able to finish 6th and 7th. Both cars raced again at
Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (), frequently referred to as ''Spa'', is a motor-racing circuit located in Stavelot, Belgium. It is the current venue of the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix, hosting its first Grand Prix in 1925, and has held ...
where Aston Martin suffered their only other failure to finish in the season, chassis #04 having suffered engine failure. However, chassis #05, which had now been upgraded with an even more powerful 720 hp, Version II 6.3 L V8, was able to finish a respectable 7th. For the final round in Mexico, Aston Martin decided to take only chassis #05, where they finished 8th. Ending the season,
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
had finished 6th in the Teams Championship, behind the factory
Mercedes-Benz Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
,
Porsche Dr. Ing. h.c. F. Porsche AG, usually shortened to Porsche (; see #Pronunciation, below), is a German automobile manufacturer specializing in high-performance sports cars, SUVs and sedans, headquartered in Stuttgart, Baden-Württemberg, Germany ...
,
Jaguar The jaguar (''Panthera onca'') is a large cat species and the only living member of the genus '' Panthera'' native to the Americas. With a body length of up to and a weight of up to , it is the largest cat species in the Americas and the th ...
, and
Nissan , trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
teams, although they were able to defeat the
Toyota is a Japanese multinational automotive manufacturer headquartered in Toyota City, Aichi, Japan. It was founded by Kiichiro Toyoda and incorporated on . Toyota is one of the largest automobile manufacturers in the world, producing about 10 ...
team.


Cancellation


AMR2

At the time of the end of the 1989 season, Protech was already beginning development of the AMR2 for 1990. With the intention for this car to race alongside another two AMR1's in the
1990 24 Hours of Le Mans The 1990 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 58th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 16 and 17 June 1990. Background Two chicanes were introduced along the Mulsanne Straight prior to the race. This was done to reduce the maximum speed of the cars ...
. The AMR2 combined the chassis of the AMR1, a newer and more powerful 6.3L Version III V8, and an evolved, more aerodynamic body design. The AMR2 was promised to be faster in a straight line than the AMR1 (with a predicted top speed of 230+ mph), a problem which had greatly hindered AMR1 at Le Mans. However, with the announcement from the FIA that Group C engine regulations were to change to only allow 3.5 litre normally aspirated engines from 1991, There was not the budget available to develop a new engine and Protech was disbanded and closed in February 1990 before the chassis AMR2/06 could be completed. AMR2/06 was later built up from left over parts and fitted with an AMR1 body. Aesthetically AMR2/06 looks exactly the same as an AMR1 even with the same
Mobil 1 Mobil 1 is a brand of synthetic motor oil and other automotive lubrication products. Originally developed by the Mobil oil company, it is now globally marketed and sold by ExxonMobil. Mobil 1 engine oil was introduced in 1974. The brand range no ...
livery.


AMR3

Shortly before closure of Protech, plans for another racing car were put in place. For a 1991 Aston Martin AMR3, this time to be designed by
Tony Southgate Tony Southgate (born 25 May 1940, Coventry, England) is a British engineer and former racing car designer. He designed many successful cars, including Jaguar's Le Mans-winning XJR-9, and cars for almost every type of circuit racing. He was respon ...
. But
Aston Martin Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with ...
were forced to drop out of motor racing due to the economic instability of the company at the time. It would be the last racing car produced by Aston Martin for fifteen years until the launch of the DBR9 in 2005.


Chassis

A total of five AMR1
chassis A chassis (, ; plural ''chassis'' from French châssis ) is the load-bearing framework of an artificial object, which structurally supports the object in its construction and function. An example of a chassis is a vehicle frame, the underpart ...
were built. AMR1/01 is now owned by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust. AMR1/03 had also been sold on the open market, selling for €294,250 ($359,987) at auction in 2004 AMR1/04 was the first AMR1 to reach auction, selling at a Brooks (now Bonhams)/
Aston Martin Lagonda The Aston Martin Lagonda is a full-size luxury four-door saloon manufactured by British manufacturer Aston Martin between 1974 and 1990. A total of 645 were produced. The name was derived from the Lagonda marque that Aston Martin had purchas ...
auction in 2000. The car sold for £133,500. Currently AMR1/04 is used in the Historic Sportscar Racing series in North America. AMR1/05 is currently raced in Europe by owner Paul Whight.


Results


References


External links


Aston Martin Picture Gallery - AMR1
''AstonMartins.com''

''MulsannesCorner.com''
Aston Martin AMR1 Picture Gallery
''AllRacingCars.com'' {{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers Group C cars AMR1