The Aston Martin Valkyrie is one of the most hotly anticipated upcoming hypercars of current times, so much so that sight unseen all 150 road-going examples have already been pre-sold. Fans attending the British Grand Prix this past weekend were the first to actually see this 1160hp machine in motion as Aston Martin High Performance Test Driver Chris Goodwin piloted the Valkyrie around the track ahead of the main race.
This was one of the first times that the Valkyrie had actually been driven anywhere, as Chris explained: “I’ve driven this car around Silverstone for countless hours on the simulator at Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s HQ and in many other sports cars throughout my career, but to drive Aston Martin Valkyrie here today feels exceptionally special. Of course, we still have a lot of development work to go but we can now begin to really push the physical testing process and realize the capabilities of what we have developed over the past months. Putting that aside, today has brought a real smile to my face and I hope that the crowds watching from the stands enjoyed it as much as I did.”
The next stage of development will be extensive physical testing of that impressive 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12. It features a Kinetic Energy Regeneration System (KERS) not unlike the systems used in Formula 1 cars and has been designed from the start to go racing, as evidenced by the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro. The Valkyrie will also be the platform for a future FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) challenger.
Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda President & Group CEO said, “Today is a real milestone in not only Aston Martin’s history but for our industry as a whole. Aston Martin Valkyrie continues to redefine what you and I recognize as a hypercar, possessing unrivaled levels of performance in a package that is technologically beyond anything else. While Chris’ demonstration today was not delivered at full speed, there is no doubt in my mind that we will one day return to deliver its full potential around this magnificent circuit.”
This collaboration of design and development between Red Bull Advanced Technologies and Aston Martin is just the beginning for the Valkyrie and the dynamic reveal of this extreme hypercar at the British Grand Prix was a fitting way to showcase its future potential.
Images courtesy of Aston Martin
