LUXURY SPORTS CAR MANUFACTURER ASTON MARTIN LAUNCHES ITS FIRST MOTORBIKE

Gaydon-based luxury sports car manufacturer Aston Martin has teamed up with the 100-yearold motorcycle manufacturer Brough Superior to produce the AMB 001.

It’s unlikely, though, that you’ll see one on a street near you. Only 100 will be produced worldwide, with a price tag of £93,000, and the bike is designed for track racing only.

Unveiled at the Milan Motorcycle Show the AMB 001 is a fi rst for both companies. It’s the fi rst time the Aston Martin badge has appeared on a motorbike, and the fi rst time a Brough Superior product has been fi tted with a turbocharged V-Twin engine.

Aston Martin Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Offi cer, Marek Reichman said:

“This is what we believe a cuttingedge motorcycle should be and we are very proud to see the Aston Martin wings on a motorcycle for the fi rst time.

“In addition to applying the skills we have developed for cars such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie we have also been able to bring our expertise in the traditional craft techniques to this project. The fi nished product is a truly beautiful motorcycle; a design and engineering work of art.”

Taking their inspiration from the new series of mid-engined Aston Martin cars, the Aston Martin Design team worked on clear principles of form and function, where design and engineering had to work together.

The result is a motorcycle which, they say, is a high-performance work of art.

The Stirling Green and Lime Essence-painted body is made of carbon fi bre with components that have been specially designed using the best processes and materials, including carbon fi bre, titanium and billet aluminium.

New battery application centre

Johnson Matthey is to open a new battery application centre at Milton Park near Didcot.

The global science and chemicals company has taken 22,857 sq ft at 142 Park Drive, a newly-built office and laboratory development.

Johnson Matthey is developing nextgeneration battery materials for the automotive industry that will go further between charges, allowing for improved acceleration and safety. The family of ultra-high energy density eLNO cathode between charges, allowing for improved