From what little we can see, the Valkyrie should be a game changer for Aston Martin.
This year’s Geneva Motor Show was really something else. Somewhat lost in the fuss over the AM-RB 003 at the Aston Martin booth was the new Aston Martin Valkyrie. Like the AM-RB 003, it’s the brainchild of Red Bull Formula One Chief Technical Officer Adrian Newey.
This YouTube video from Carfection gives us the straight skinny on Aston Martin’s new mid-engined halo hypercar. The Valkyrie’s engine will produce an incredible 1,160 horsepower at a downright stratospheric 10,500 RPM, just 500 RPM short of the naturally aspirated 6.5 liter V12’s 11,000 RPM redline. Torque figures are quoted at 664 lb/ft at 6,000 RPM. There’s also a hybrid power system on board, an electric motor capable of delivering 160 horsepower and 206 lb/ft of torque, utilizing a Formula One-inspired KERS-style boost system.
Carfection’s Henry Catchpole was invited to Red Bull F1’s world headquarters in Milton Keynes, England. Though starstruck by all of the Formula One trophies and hardware on display, he wasn’t distracted from his primary purpose for being there. His entire purpose for that day’s trip was to drive the Aston Martin Valkyrie on Red Bull’s Formula One simulator, around Circuit de Spa Francorchamps.
The simulator itself is an incredible piece of work, utilizing an actual Red Bull F1 chassis and coded and programmed entirely in-house. While Red Bull and Aston Martin were very guarded about some of the information gleaned from the exercise, they did let on to two interesting facts.
Henry reached an amazing 210 miles per hour at the end of the Kemmel straight, and that the lap times were somewhere in LMP1 car territory, despite being on street tires. In short, the production Aston Martin Valkyrie, when it finally does see production, will be far more than just another hypercar.
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