The Aston Martin Valkyrie promises to be one of the most technically advanced hypercars on the planet, built in collaboration with Red Bull and a slew of technical partners including Cosworth, Rimac, and Tencate Advanced Composites. While the automaker has been tight-lipped about the revolutionary hypercar in recent months, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing Team Principal Christian Horner recently provided new insight into the car’s development and testing.
Speaking to Motor1, Horner confirmed the Valkyrie is currently in the final stages of simulation and that a physical car will start testing within the next few months. “It’s all in the simulation world at the moment, but it’s highly encouraging," he said. "It’s going to be an incredible car, it’s going to be an iconic car, and it should start running just before Christmas this year, or the early part of next year.”
Horner added that Aston Martin and Red Bull are currently focusing on the production part. The process requires so much precision that he compares them to “parts of a Swiss clock.”
“Right now, the transmission, the engine, they’re sounding great and looking great, there’s fantastic power, so that’s really exciting, it’s what is advertised.”
As for power figures, Aston Martin hasn’t officially announced the Valkyrie’s performance specifications, but the Aston Martin Red Bull Racing team principal confirmed reports that the car’s 6.5-liter V12 developed by Cosworth produces 1,130 hp, making it the most powerful naturally aspirated engine fitted to a road car.
Like the Mercedes-AMG One, the Valkyrie utilizes technology from Formula One, essentially making it a race car for the road. “There’s an awful lot of DNA that’s coming out of Formula 1 and gone into [Valkyrie],” Horner explained when asked how closely the Valkyrie compares to an F1 car. “But of course as a closed-wheel car, and this is an opportunity without [the] regulation constraints that there are in Formula 1. The diffuser on [Valkyrie] is insane, and the amount of downforce it generates are insane, so it really has given Adrian [Newey, chief technical officer of Red Bull Racing Formula One and noted aerodynamic genius] the freedom to push the boundaries with what is basically a diffuser on wheels.” Even on the road and fitted with road tires, Horner boldly claims the Valkyrie would still be competitive in the Formula 2 field.
As for how the Valkyrie will compare to the likes of the Mercedes-AMG One and McLaren Senna, Horner is confident the hypercar “is going to be insane" and "raise the bar somewhat.”
