Aston Martin Steals McLaren's Chief Test Driver To Create Ultimate Hypercar

McLaren's former chief test driver has been appointed by Aston Martin to help develop its radical Valkyrie hypercar.

Aston Martin is enlisting the help of several companies to help develop the Valkyrie into the ultimate hypercar. Red Bull Racing will supply F1 technology to make the Valkyrie a race car for the road. Cosworth is building its 6.5-liter V12 engine, while Rimac is developing its lightweight hybrid battery system. Alcon and Surface Transforms will be supplying lightweight high-performance brake calipers and carbon discs to give the 1130-hp hypercarcar colossal stopping power.

And now the company has gained a potentially vital asset, as McLaren’s former chief test driver Chris Goodwin has now joined Aston Martin to help develop the Valkyrie. Goodwin has worked for McLaren for 21 years as the company’s chief test driver. During his time, he helped develop the P1 hybrid and has also been testing the BP23 and Senna. He also has racing experience including at Le Mans. Appointed as Aston Martin’s Expert High Performance Test Driver, Goodwin’s expertise will no doubt help the British automaker stay ahead of the competition. As well as the Valkyrie, Goodwin will also help develop Aston Martin’s first SUV, the DBX crossover, and RapidE electric car.

He joins Aston's new chief engineer for vehicle dynamics Simone Rizzuto, who was previously responsible for vehicle performance testing and integration at Maserati and Alfa Romeo. “I’m thrilled to have people of Chris and Simone’s calibre join Aston Martin’s already stellar engineering and dynamics team,” said Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer. “Their decision is a great endorsement of our future plans, while the skills and experience they bring is second to none. As we enter the next crucial phase in the development of our growing product and powertrain portfolios, they will make an invaluable contribution in shaping an exceptional new family of Aston Martin models."

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Aston Martin Steals Bugatti's Head Exterior Designer

Jumping ship from one great brand to another.

It’s not unusual to see automakers lure over executives from competitors. Typically that’s not news. But one of the most recent cases definitely caught our attention. Automotive News reports that Aston Martin has recruited Bugatti’s now former exterior design boss, Tobias Suehlmann, to be its new design director. He will report directly to Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman. Interestingly, Suehlmann was only at his Bugatti post for nine months, hired to replace Sasha Selipanov, who penned the Chiron.

Selipanov jumped ship for Genesis, now working in its advanced design studio in Frankfurt, Germany. Up until now, Suehlmann had spent his entire career at VW Group, of which Bugatti is a part of. Past examples of his work include the 2015 Volkswagen Sport Coupe GTE and 2016 T-Prime GTE concepts. Production examples include the all-new Arteon and Touareg. Although Aston Martin recently launched two all-new models, the DB11 and Vantage, and a new Vanquish is coming very soon, there’s clearly more work to be done. Right off the top of our heads, we predict Suehlmann will immediately be tasked with designing the UK carmaker’s upcoming mid-engine supercars.

No word yet on whether he’ll also be involved in the new Lagonda brand, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see at least some of his talented skills put to work there. For its part, Bugatti has yet to announce who’ll replace Suehlmann. We can also clearly see why Suehlmann, who’s only 39, decided to make the change. Aston Martin is a rapidly growing and exclusive brand, selling over 5,000 vehicles last year, a 58 percent increase from the year prior. This was mainly a result of high DB11 demand, and considering the Vantage will go on sale soon, the sales figures will definitely increase. Meanwhile, Bugatti is still limited to one model, though it’s rumored more are on the way.

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