Aston Martin Valkyrie

	Aston Martin Valkyrie
	Debut: 2022 Maker: Aston Martin Predecessor: No

Published on 1 Nov 2023

Valkyrie is probably the first hypercar to try a step further than race cars...

Dauer 962LM, Ferrari F50, Porsche 911 GT1, Mercedes CLK GTR, Jaguar XJR-15 and XJ220, Ford GT40 and GT… many supercars were derived from race cars and reckoned to deliver the closest driving experience to motor racing. However, Aston Martin Valkyrie is probably the first to try a step further than race cars. Modern race cars are tightly governed by racing regulations such as air restrictor size, fuel-flow limit, engine format and displacement, dimensions and shapes of aerodynamic aids, suspension technology and minimum vehicle weight. For example, a Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) is limited to 670 horsepower, propelling a minimum dry weight of 1030 kg, resulting in a power-to-weight ratio of 650 hp per ton. Moreover, active aero is banned, while downforce/drag ratio is capped at 4:1. In contrast, the Aston Martin Valkyrie project started with a target of 1000 horsepower and less than 1000 kg of dry weight, so its power to weight ratio is 50 percent higher than that of the top-class Le Mans racers. By combining ground effect, active aero and active suspension, it can achieve lower drag while chasing 1800 kg of downforce. Yes, road car homologation rules actually give engineers more freedom to chase performance. If the car is fitted with racing slick tires, it will out-run a Le Mans car. Aston even claimed it would be as quick as an F1 car in Silverstone circuit!

To realize such an extreme hypercar, you need to fulfill a couple of preconditions. Firstly, you should be able to persuade sufficient customers to pay multi-million dollars for a car that might be very compromised to be used on road – such as zero luggage space, race-car tight cockpit, little refinement and comfort. Fortunately, Aston Martin is still a strong brand, so finding 150 buyers to write a cheque of £2.5 million (plus local taxes) would not be a big problem. If that’s not enough to earn a profit, another 25 units of track variant should capitalize on the investment.

Redbull engineering guru takes aerodynamics to the extreme on this so-called "road car".

The second precondition is to find the right guy to design such a car. Obviously, to out-perform state of the art race cars, you need someone who is riding at the top of the motor racing game. Who could be a better candidate than Adrian Newey? The F1 engineering guru designed countless of championship-winning machines for Williams, McLaren and Red Bull. If he can’t, I don’t know who is capable of.

Newey was not hired by Aston Martin though. The Valkyrie project started as a partnership between Aston and Redbull Racing. That’s why the original prototype unveiled in July 2016 was named AM-RB 001. Its engineering was the work of Newey and his colleagues, while styling was credited to Aston Martin’s Marek Reichman, although the car is shaped by the aero know-how of Newey.

In July 2017, a near-working prototype arrived together with the Valkyrie name. Production was said to take place in 2019, as its V12 motor was under development by Cosworth. In December 2018, Cosworth had its job done. Unfortunately, Aston Martin fell into financial trouble at this moment, which led to new owner Lawrence Stroll and dismissal of company chief Andy Palmer. The partnership with Redbull ended, and Aston took over the remaining development work. This delayed its first delivery by 3 years to late 2022.

Apart from delay, the finished product did not meet all the targets set by Newey. For example, maximum downforce is lowered from 1800 kg to 1100 kg as its suspension has troubles to take on more. Dry weight has risen from the original 1000 kg target to 1270 kg, blame to the lack of development fund. On the plus side, the hybrid powertrain exceeds its original target by 155 horsepower, compensating part of the lost performance.

Cockpit is so tight and you get in and out through windows.

Newey is an aero guy, so it is not surprising to see the Valkyrie is shaped to optimize aerodynamics at all costs of practicality. While the car is 2-meters wide, its passenger cell is so narrow, leaving space at either side to accommodate massive venturis which lead to huge diffusers and generate huge downforce. There is no luggage compartment up front, not at the back either, because that would have compromised air flow. You must be grateful that Newey did not ditch the fenders or leave the cockpit exposed, because they actually help smoothing the air flow. The rear wing and underbody flaps are adjustable. As a result, the car produces 1100 kg of downforce from a relatively low 220 km/h (137 mph), far superior to other track specials such as 911 GT3 RS (860 kg at 285 km/h) and McLaren Senna (800 kg at 250 km/h).

The carbon-fiber passenger cell is extremely narrow. Moreover, you get into it from the very small gullwing doors like Le Mans car drivers. In fact, you might just call the doors as windows, because they open up to the shoulder line only. This means you have to climb into the cockpit skillfully – better take some Yoga lessons first. The cockpit has 2 seats but absolutely no shoulder room for both occupants. The seat pads are molded into the floor to save space like LaFerrari, while pedals are adjustable to suit. The footwell offsets to the center line as the carbon-fiber monocoque is shaped like a teardrop. The only luxury item is as many as 4 LCD screens on offer, but each of them has special purposes. The one on the racing-style steering wheel displays the driving information as the car has no instrument pod. The one on the center console (is it a console?) displays secondary information as well as rear view from the rearward camera, since the car has no rear window at all. Likewise, the screens at either side of the dashboard replace door mirrors. The Valkyrie takes aerodynamics to the extreme.

In racing car fashion, the front suspension is mounted directly on the carbon-fiber monocoque, while the rear suspension is attached to the engine which works as load bearing. The Valkyrie employs not just adaptive dampers but active suspension, which uses hydraulically actuated torsion bar to alter the force in each suspension. Theoretically, the characteristics of compression, rebound and ride height are all adjustable in real time and individually at each wheel. This means it can achieve flat cornering, eliminate pitch and dive as well as change stiffness to counteract downforce. Needless to say, it rides on Michelin Cup 2 tires and uses Brembo carbon ceramic brakes. The 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels are forged from Magnesium.

Cosworth V12 shames the best of Ferrari and Lambo by revving to 11,100 rpm.

While Aston itself has some pretty powerful V12 engines, it wisely commissioned Cosworth to build a brand new naturally aspirated unit for the hypercar. It runs 65-degree V-angle and displaces 6.5 liters like Ferrari’s V12 motors, but its output figures trump the latter by a large margin: 1013 horsepower is produced at 10,500 rpm, and it can rev to a maximum 11,100 rpm like a racing motor! For comparison, the most powerful version of Ferrari’s road-going V12, as employed by 812 Competizione, produces “only” 830 horsepower at 9250 rpm, and it revs to only 9500 rpm. Moreover, the Cosworth V12 is unusually lightweight at 206 kg, even though it is designed as a fully stressed member of the chassis. How can it achieve these?

The answer is by the usual racing engine technologies. To cut weight, the large intake plenum is made of carbon-fiber while the equal-length exhaust manifolds are Inconel. To enable higher rev and power, moving internals are made from the lightest material and in very expensive ways: forged aluminum pistons, titanium con-rods and a crankshaft billet machined from a solid block of steel. Lightweight titanium intake valves and plasma-coated cylinder walls also allow the engine to rev higher, so does the lack of particulate filters. The latter is possible because the V12 employs port injection only, so there is no lean-burn mode to take care of. To withstand the unprecedent high rev, the camshafts are driven by gears instead of chains. Lastly but not least, the Cosworth motor is designed to last only 80,000 km before a full rebuild. That’s more than the 50,000 km life of AMG Project One’s V6, but modern Ferrari engines can easily last more than 200,000 km.

The naturally aspirated V12 works with an electric motor which is integrated with the Ricardo 7-speed single-clutch automated manual transmission. The motor provides another 143 horsepower, adding up the total to 1155 hp at 10,600 rpm, accompanied with 682 lbft of torque at 7,000 rpm. The hybrid system including a small, 1.68 kWh battery, is supplied by Rimac. It is charged by engine power rather than braking or plug-in. There is no EV mode either, just assists the engine in acceleration. The Ricardo box has an even shorter life than the engine, requiring a full rebuild every 50,000 km. Extreme performance never comes cheap.

An unpolished raw diamond.

How does this 220 mph hypercar feel in reality? Well, it gives motoring journalists a mixed impression. On the one hand, its speed, both in straight line and in corner, is astonishing, easily trumping track specials like McLaren Senna. On a track with long and wide straight, the Valkyrie reaches over 200 mph at the end of the straight whereas the McLaren manages only 180. The combination of a large naturally aspirated V12 and electric assistance offers a relentless acceleration. The Cosworth V12 is the highlight of the car, as it offers all the qualities you expected, like instantaneous throttle response, linear power delivery and endless enthusiasm for rev. It is tractable at urban speeds, but it takes about 3500 rpm to really wake up, then its tone changes with rev. The sound might be less melodic than Ferrari or Lamborghini’s V12s, but still a very special noise.

Unfortunately, it is way too loud to enjoy in the uninsulated carbon-fiber passenger cell. In fact, so loud that you have to wear ear plugs or the provided active noise-cancelling earpieces to avoid hearing damage, even in a helmet. What a pity. The cockpit is actually an NVH laboratory, displaying all sorts of rattles and shakes and vibrations thanks to bolting the engine directly to the monocoque. Seating position is like F1 cars, with your legs raised to chest level to make up space for airflow underneath. You will get used to that, but never the way your shoulder is rubbed against your passenger or the immense noise that makes conversation impossible on the run.

In fact, the lack of development is evident everywhere. While the Valkyrie corners very quickly once it is up to speed with downforce built up, its low-speed cornering is a bit clumsy, because unlike most other hybrid rivals it has no front-end traction to rely on. The engine is simply too powerful for the rear axle, easily overwhelming the Cup 2 tires and triggering traction control to work overtime. Turn off traction control, the rear tires breakaway suddenly, lacking the progressive and controllable manner of most other supercars. On racing slicks it might be a very different animal, but road tires fail to live up to its potential.

Control tuning is also flawed. The long-travel brake pedal feels slightly dead at its top end, although braking power is ultimately epic. Gearshift of the automated manual box is not great either: slow and rough. The steering has adequate weighting and speed but communication is a bit lacking. The active suspension has body movement tied down, but it does so unnaturally, robbing you the feel and confidence like how Alain Prost complained about his active-suspension 1993 Williams FW15C winner, which was incidentally designed by Adrian Newey, too. The Valkyrie is not the kind of driver’s car that tries very hard to engage you with feedback and feel and sound, but it asks you to trust its capability, lean on it and then it will deliver what it promised – until the tires give up.

Sadly, the original idea of Newey sounds so promising, but financial trouble stopped Aston from realizing it, resulting in an unpolished raw diamond. We will never know how it might turn out if it underwent proper development.

Verdict: