Aston Martin Valkyrie

The Valkyrie first broke cover in 2016 under the codename AM-RB 001, and then spent the next five years in constant and thorough development before production finally began in 2021.

As is immediately obvious, this Aston Martin is like no other car on the road. The bodywork is aggressive and purposeful, with a vast amount of ‘negative space’ between the panels, enabling a viewer to see straight through the entire car. The result is that the Valkyrie is theoretically capable of producing an astonishing two tons of downforce – and would do so, if only tyre technology allowed it.

The front wing bears more than a passing resemblance to a Formula One car’s, and two vast venturi tunnels dominate the Valkyrie’s tail end, further strengthening its uncompromising philosophy of aerodynamics over anything else. Enzo Ferrari once famously said that “aerodynamics are for people who can’t build engines,”, but even he could not have envisaged the Valkyrie, which fuses the two together in arguably their most compelling forms. A 6.5-litre Cosworth V12 lurks within the Valkyrie’s shrink-wrapped bodywork, with an electric motor for lower speeds.

The front windscreen wiper took a year to develop, drawing on NASA-derived technology. The weight-saving regime was obsessive; this extends to the butterfly doors, and seats which weigh less than the wheels, which in turn weigh less than the tyres. Aston Martin even developed an aluminium badge weighing just 0.4 grams and measuring 70 microns thick. This uncompromising philosophy, for better or worse, provides the driver with an experience unique to the Valkyrie.

While first and foremost a road car, Aston Martin announced in October 2023 that the Valkyrie will compete at the 24 hours of Le Mans in 2025, continuing the British marque’s long and illustrious history of endurance racing.

On loan courtesy of Aston Martin Lagonda, from Tuesday 23 – Tuesday 30 January 2024.