By Will Grice

With the news Aston Martin are set to sponsor the Red Bull F1 team in the 2018 / 19 season, the iconic British manufacturer have made another bold move – by building their very first submarine.

Announced at this year’s Monaco Yacht Show, the project is a joint venture between Triton, one of the world’s leading private submarine companies, and Aston Martin, the Neptune submarine is set to be the brand’s first foray into submersible vehicles. Many have touted the car manufacturers decision to join the F1 and their move into luxury submarines as the company trying to compete with Ferrari for the title of the world’s leading luxury car brand. However, regardless of the politics and underlying meaning of Aston Martin’s latest announcements, the Neptune sub certainly looks like a very cool piece of kit.

Capable of descending 1,600ft below the surface, the Neptune is based on Triton’s 1650/3 Low Profile sub, which features three seats, battery-powered engine and enough oxygen for a 12-hour dive. With a weight of four tonnes and a height of just under two meters, the Neptune is understated in its design, yet forward thinking and innovative in its engineering.

Aston Martin’s VP and Chief Creative Office, Marek Reichman, says the Neptune is “defined by its sleek, elegant exterior. We have used forms and proportions that express the same devotion to design, engineering and beauty that shape our cars, such as the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar project.”

The Valkyrie is another example of Aston Martin’s dedication to the cutting edge. A supercar capable of going toe to toe with an F1 car, the Valkyrie recorded a lap around Silverstone that matched some of the modern machines seen in F1. Totally street legal, the supercar is arguably one of greatest road car ever conceived, with only 150 cars being built and a price tag of just shy of $3.5million.

The Aston Martin x Triton Neptune will be priced around $4million, for more information please visit astonmartin.com