Lamborghini Considers New Hypercar To Fight The Aston Martin Valkyrie

If it gets the green light, it will be “in the same vein” of the Centenario and Veneno.

Last year at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September, Lamborghini’s Chief Technical Officer Maurizio Reggiani announced plans to launch a new limited-run model showcasing new technology. No more details were revealed at the time, but company boss Stefano Domenicali has confirmed to Autocar a new exclusive model is still being considered with “extreme aero” to compete with other limited-run hypercars like the Aston Martin Valkyrie, Mercedes-AMG Project One and McLaren Senna. Domenicali described the model as being “in the same vein” of the Centenario and Veneno.

Presumably, this means the car will be based on the V12-powered Aventador since both the Centenario and Veneno were based on Lamborghini’s flagship supercar. It’s probably also safe to assume the ultra-exclusive Lambo will command a seven-figure price tag and be produced in extremely limited numbers. The Centenario, for example, was limited to just 40 examples and had an asking price of $1.9 million, while only five examples of the Veneno were built to celebrate Lamborghini’s 50th anniversary. Only three of them were sold, each costing a whopping $4.5 million.

Don’t expect Lamborghini’s Aston Martin Valkyrie fighter to arrive any time soon, though, as Domenicali admitted the Huracan, Aventador and Urus series production cars are “the main priority [for Lamborghini] right now."

For now, the recently unveiled SVJ represents the lightest and most powerful Aventador Lamborghini has ever produced. The car’s 6.5-liter V12 has been tuned to produce 770 horsepower and 531 lb-ft of torque, while a dry weight of 3,362 pounds gives it a weight-to-power ratio of 1.98 kg/hp. Combine these specs with the car’s incredibly advanced active aerodynamics, and it’s no wonder the Lamborghini Aventador SVJ is the new king of the Nurburgring.

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Aston Martin Valkyrie To Be Defining Hypercar Of Its Generation

Aston Martin reveals new technology partner for upcoming hypercar.

Aston Martin has been putting all its technical know-how into developing the ground-breaking Valkyrie hypercar. Having established strong ties with Cosworth and Redbull on this project, the British carmaker has now announced that Tencate Advanced Composites will be a technical partner on the project.

Aston Martin say that Tencate will be supplying advanced composite materials for a broad range of end-use applications throughout the car, including structural, cosmetic and high-temperature components. This technical partnership is the first advanced composite material partnership for the sports car manufacturer.

The Valkyrie has an all-carbon fiber bodyshell that develops massive downforce to enable the electrically assisted 6.5-liter V12 powerplant to do give the hypercar serious cornering abilities. Tencate has worked very closely with Aston Martin’s team to make certain that the very best composite material solutions are available for the program.

Scott Unger, Chief Technology Officer at TenCate says that they are very excited to have been selected as technology partner for Aston Martin and he says that their companies strong technical position in Formula 1 combined with their technical support and expertise makes this the ideal partnership.

David King, Vice President and Chief Special Operations Officer, at Aston Martin said, “The extraordinary targets we have set ourselves for the Aston Martin Valkyrie require us to select partners with exceptional technical capabilities and products. In TenCate Advanced Composites we have found a partner with the skillset and the mindset to join us in meeting the challenges of developing and producing what will undoubtedly be the defining hypercar of its generation.”

With a mere 150 road-legal Valkyries planned for production, this will be a very rare and special vehicle indeed, no doubt made even more cutting-edge with the input from Tencate. A further 25 track-only AMR Pro variants will be built for a few wealthy customers who want to dominate every track day they attend. Skill levels permitting of course.

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New Aston Martin Valkyrie Details Are Here For Your Indulgence

The firm's upcoming hypercar is about to get even more wild?

It’s no secret the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar is a work in progress. We expect it’ll debut in early 2019, likely at the Geneva Motor Show. Until then, new and interesting tidbits are coming out, such as this interesting piece of info courtesy of The Supercar Blog. According to its unnamed sources, Aston Martin is working on a Valkyrie variant that will slot between the road car and the track-onlyValkyrie AMR Pro.

It’s reportedly called the Track Pack and it can be best described as essentially being the standard Valkyrie only with more aggressive aero body components that’ll come straight from the AMR Pro. Although there are some rumors claiming the AMR Pro will have more power than the Valkyrie road car, it remains unknown whether the Track Pack will also inherit the horsepower bump.

Chances are it will but it may not be quite as much. What’s for certain is that the Track Pack will be fully road legal. In addition, the Track Pack may also include an even lighter carbon fiber tub compared to the one already set to be offered in the Valkyrie road car. Could it be part of the Track Pack? If so, that would mean the Track Pack will offer pretty much exactly what we’d expect: lighter weight, more aerodynamic, and additional power. Already Aston Martin claims the standard Valkyrie road car will have a dry weight of 2,200 pounds. How much will this Track Pack further shave off? We figure at least 100 pounds.

Lastly, it’s still a mystery as to whether Aston Martin has offered the Track Pack option (assuming it exists) to all 150 Valkyrie customers (total of 25 Valkyrie AMR Pros will be made). If not, will the Valkyrie Track Pack consist of a separate production run? How much will the Track Pack cost as a standalone option?

We’ll only learn those answers in due time. In any case, the Valkyrie road car will come powered by a Cosworth-built 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine good for 1,130 hp. A Rimac-built hybrid battery system will also be included along with a seven-speed gearbox built by Ricardo. Each of those road going Valkyries are expected to cost at least $3.2 million each. No word yet how much the AMR Pro will Track Pack will set owners back but we doubt they’ll even feel the difference in their bank accounts.

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Aston Martin Valkyrie Claims World’s Most Powerful Engine Title

At least for engines not aided by one of those newfangled turbochargers

While turbocharging has boosted power and torque outputs to new levels, naturally aspirated engines can still be found at the core of some of the very best supercars on the roads today. Their instantaneous power delivery and ability to deliver a knock-out blow at very high revs makes them the purists choice.

If all goes to plan, the Aston Martin Valkyrie will arrive later this year and when it does it will have the most powerful naturally aspirated engine ever fitted to a road car. Cosworth announced on Tuesday that its 6.5-liter V12 will make a massive 1,130hp, around 10% more than the 1,000hp that was hinted at during development. The amount of power assistance provided by the hybrid battery system has not been revealed just yet though.

Cars like the Lamborghini Huracan Performante, Porsche 911 GT3 and Ferrari GTC4 Lusso all have high-revving atmospheric engines that deliver massive performance without the aid of forced induction. In recent years, the title of most powerful production atmospheric engine has been ping-ponging between Ferrari and Lamborghini with the 789-hp 6.5-liter V12 in the 812 Superfast currently claiming the crown.

A fairer comparison though would be with hypercars like the 950-hp LaFerrari and 887-hp Porsche 918 Spyder, which both make use of hybrid assistance to boost their outputs but even these cars will be put into the shade when the Valkyrie arrives.

This Aston’s output also eclipses all but the most powerful turbocharged super and hypercars. Aside from very limited production vehicles such as the hybrid Koenigsegg Regera, the 1,479-hp Chiron and its predecessor, the 1,184hp Veyron Super Sports, are the only rivals that produce more power.

And they need four turbos and an 8.0-liter 16-cylinder engine to do it. Perhaps the days of the naturally aspirated engine are not as numbered as everyone thought, especially when combined with some even more newfangled hybrid assistance. Of the 175 examples slated for production (which includes the track-focused AMR variants) exactly 0 are still available to buy, so this tech makes it into a few more modern hypercars.

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Aston Martin Valkyrie Successor Could Race At Le Mans

It's being nicknamed the "son of Valkyrie."

Next year, Aston Martin will unleash the most extreme road car it’s ever built: the Valkyrie. Developed in collaboration with Red Bull, the Valkyrie is being billed as a race car for the road. Best of all, it isn’t a one-off project, as Aston Martin has confirmed it will be the first of several “incredible” new hypercars that will launch as part of the automaker’s partnership with Red Bull.

One of them will be a mid-engined supercar rivalling the Ferrari 488 GTB and McLaren 720S that will revive the Vanquish name. And now there’s talk of a separate mid-engine hypercar being developed by the two companies as a successor to the Valkyrie.

According to Autocar, the hypercar has been nicknamed the “son of Valkyrie.” Originally, the plan was to build a race car based on the Valkyrie to compete in Le Mans as the regulations are being changed to allow road-derived and concept hybrid cars to compete in the top category from 2020. However, since the Valkyrie has already sold out and its successor is due to arrive the same year, it makes more sense for Aston Martin to use the “son of Valkyrie” to attempt an outright victory at Le Mans.

“I’m hesitant to confirm we will race at Le Mans before the final regulations have been confirmed, because our experiences in Formula 1 have taught us that in motorsport ideas that begin optimistically can ebb away, but we have a great deal of interest in the new regulations at Le Mans,” said Palmer, referring to plans to let road car-based cars compete in the World Endurance Championship and Le Mans' top class. "The underlying fact is that ‘son of Valkyrie’ will drop at exactly the right time," Palmer added, "and if that means it would be able to go into the event and race LaFerraris, Porsche 918s and Sennas, then I cannot think of anything better."

Like the Valkyrie, the new unnamed hypercar will be co-developed by Aston Martin and Red Bull engineers. It will target McLaren Ultimate Series cars such as the Senna and upcoming Speedtail and will likely be produced in limited numbers.

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An Aston Martin Valkyrie Will Have Real Moon Dust In Its Paint

This takes car customization to a whole new level.

The Valkyrie currently in development by Aston Martin and Red Bull promises to be a revolutionary hypercar with race-derived technology. Aston Martin also allows customers to extensively customise their Valkyrie to make each car unique. For one future owner, changing the exterior paint color simply wasn’t enough. Instagram user Lamborghiniks, who also owns a Pagani Huayra BC, Lamborghini Veneno, Koenigsegg Agera XS, has placed an order for a Valkyrie and is planning to put real moon dust into the hypercar’s paint. Yes, you read that correctly.

The hypercar’s striking, futuristic design already looks like something out of a science fiction film, but this takes it to another level. Writing on Instagram, the entrepreneur revealed that he has purchased a rock from the moon which will be ground down to dust and used in the hypercar’s Karosserie Lunar Red paint, in what will be the first car feature a paint formula that includes actual ingredients from space. As bragging rights go, it’s certainly a unique attribute. How much this procedure will cost hasn’t been revealed, neither has the cost of his Valkyrie. The starting price for the hypercar is $2.6 million, but this unique example will have no doubt cost a lot more.

Only 150 Aston Martin Valkyrie’s are being produced, so it’s not as if this future owner will have trouble standing out from the crowd. It is, after all, essentially a race car for the road, with a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 cosworth engine will delivering over 1,000-hp. Aston Martin even boldly claims the Valkyrie AMR Pro will be capable of setting lap times rivalling Formula One cars. Still, this will no doubt be one of the most unique Valkyrie’s of them all and should look spectacular when the unusual paint finish is completed.

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Aston Martin Valkyrie Out To Beat Porsche's New Nurburgring Record

The Porsche 919 Evo won't hold the overall Nurburgring lap record for very long.

Just last week, Porsche obliterated the outright Nurburgring lap record with the 919 Hybrid Evo. Setting an astonishing time of five minutes and 19.545 seconds, the enhanced Le Mans racecar lapped the Green Hell circuit 52 seconds quicker than the previous all-time record set in 1983 by Stefan Bellof in a Porsche 956. It looked almost certain that Porsche would retain the record for a very long time, but the German automaker already has a new contender chasing the outright Nurburgring record: Aston Martin.

Currently in development in collaboration with Red Bull Racing, the extreme Valkyrie hypercar could potentially beat the Porsche 919’s time according to Racefans. Speaking to the publication at last weekend’s Austrian Grand Prix, Red Bull’s team principle Christian Horner believes the firm’s F1 car probably won’t beat the record, but the upcoming Valkyrie is a “contender.” "I’m not sure a Formula 1 car could actually do it, but I think that the Valkyrie — certainly the track version of the Valkyrie — could be a contender," he said. He also added that Red Bull won’t be attempting a record with its F1 car since the 919 tribute car is already faster.

“The problem is their LMP1 car broke the record in Spa which was beating a Formula 1 car time,” he said. Full specifications haven’t been revealed yet, but Aston Martin has previously claimed the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro will be capable of setting lap times faster than F1 and LMP1 race cars. That’s no small feat considering the Valkyrie AMR Pro isn’t a purpose-built race car, but derived from a fully homologated road car. It will be powered by the same naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 tuned to deliver more than 1,100 hp, and every aerodynamic surface has been revised to “significantly increase” downforce to make it the ultimate track weapon.

Horner believes this setup will enable the Valkyrie to rival Porsche’s record lap time. “It’s a few years off because the car’s still on the drawing board,” he said, “but I’d be surprised if that car didn’t have the potential to do that.”

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Will Aston Martin Present The Production Valkyrie At Geneva?

Aston Martin could have a few surprises up its sleeve for Geneva. Let’s hope the production Valkyrie is one of them.

We’re now just one week away from the Geneva Motor Show. As usual, there’s a long list of significant car debuts to look forward to, but some manufacturers are remaining quieter than others. The Ferrari 488 Pista and 2019 Porsche 911 GT3 RS have already broken cover before their motor show debuts, but Aston Martin has remained tight lipped. Ahead of the show, the automaker has announced its 2018 Geneva line-up, and if the mouth-watering range that will be on display wasn’t already exciting enough, there could also be a few surprises in store.

“It’s always a proud moment to see the fruits of the company’s efforts on show in one place, but this year’s Geneva Show promises to be extra special,” said CEO Andy Palmer. “Who knows, we may even have one or two surprises in store.” What could those surprises be? We’re hoping to finally see the production-spec Valkyrie hypercar developed in collaboration with Red Bull. After all, it’s been nearly two years since the original AM-RB 001 concept was first revealed. Aston Martin has also been showing off images of the near-final production version, so the time seems right for the automaker to reveal the Valkyrie customers will be receiving in early 2019.

For the mass market, an updated DBX crossover concept could also be on the cards, since the final model is expected to launch in either the 2019 or 2020 model year. Aston Martin also revealed an eye-catching bespoke DB11 designed by the company’s Q branch at last year’s Geneva Motor Show, so we wouldn’t be surprised if another limited edition model is shown this year. Highlighting Aston Martin’s 2018 Geneva Motor Show line-up will of course be the all-new AMG-powered Vantage. Joining it will be Aston Martin Racing’s new Vantage GTE race car and new Red Bull F1 car sporting a new 2018 livery, as well as the DB11 Coupe and Volante, which will be shown together for the first time.

“Geneva is a highlight of the industry calendar and a motor show with a rich history and great atmosphere,” Palmer added. “It’s an indication of Aston Martin’s growth that we have adopted a new stand location for 2018: one that affords us the extra space we need to display our growing range. I’m especially excited to see how people react to the new Vantage. We also have the recently launched and extremely beautiful DB11 Volante on the stand, and I’m certain motorsport fans will be thrilled to see Aston Martin Red Bull Racing F1 car and Aston Martin Racing’s all-new Vantage GTE World Endurance Championship challenger.”

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