The hype about a car that costs €3m

Aston Martin has taken the covers off its £2.5 million (€2.9 million) m "hypercar", revealing for the first time the most expensive road car in British history.

The company is making up to 150 models of the car, named the AM-RB 001, under a partnership with the Red Bull Racing team.

It has already received more than double that number of orders and expressions of interest even though it did not publicly show designs for the car until Tuesday.

Limited edition

The car, one of a number of high-priced limited edition models Aston has produced, is an attempt by the company to increase its appeal among billionaires and collectors.

The launch also paves the way for Aston to re-enter Formula 1 racing after half a century’s absence.

The company, which last made a profit in 2010, has been investing heavily in new products and expanding its capacity to place itself on a sustainable financial footing by the end of the decade.

Its latest accounts, filed last week, showed that Aston Martin made a £128m pre-tax loss during 2015, almost double the £72m loss it registered a year earlier.

But the group expects to be back in profit in 2018 - the same year that it will start the first deliveries of the AM-RB 001, which was named after the carmaker's longtime links with the James Bond franchise.

New line-up

Aston Martin will renew its entire line-up of sports cars and produce its first SUV before 2020, as it seeks to expand its customer base and rejuvenate sales.

Last year the company sold 3,615 cars, slightly higher than the year before but less than half the 7,500 it sold during 2007.

Its spending on R&D rose from £106 million to £136 million last year, and the company said it ploughed £161m into developing new products.

The first new car in its line-up is the DB11, the £155,000 supercar that replaces the iconic DB9 later this year.

The waiting list for the hypercar was already heavily oversubscribed several weeks ago, after the carmaker held a secret showing of its designs to wealthy customers at the Monaco Grand Prix.

Over that weekend, Aston offered viewings to existing customers who bought either a £1.2 million One-77 model or a £1.5m Vulcan, as well as other high-profile customers. It has since begun taking deposits for the car, which are said to be £250,000.

The car will be built by David King, director of Aston Martin's special operations division, at the company's plant in Gaydon.

The car will house a V12 engine and use some technology designed by Red Bull Racing team, but will be road legal, meaning it can be driven on public highways.

- (Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2016)