The V12-powered Valkyrie promises to be the most extreme car Aston Martin has ever produced. Built in collaboration with Red Bull Racing, the radical hypercar is the closest we’ve seen to a racecar for the road that adopts Formula One-inspired technology. And now there’s an even more extreme variant. We already knew that Aston Martin is planning to build 150 road-going examples and 25 exclusively for the race track. Now, Aston Martin has revealed the track-only version of the Valkyrie.
Meet the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, a car that aims to redefine the limits of performance. Free from the limits required for road-use, the AMR Pro version of the Valkyrie will unleash the hypercar’s true performance potential. Aston Martin hasn’t revealed the full specifications yet, but the track car will be powered by the same naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V12 engine as the road car with more power and torque thanks to a “significant” engine recalibration and the modification of the road car’s emission control systems. The Valkyrie’s hybrid system, developed by Rimac, has been left unchanged, but its control systems will be reprogrammed.
Every aerodynamic surface has been revised to “significantly increase” downforce, with additions including noticeably larger front and rear wing elements and revised aero tailored specifically for the track. Compared to the road-going Valkyrie, the AMR Pro rides on smaller 18-inch wheels to make room for Michelin racing tires which are made to the same specification as LMP1 endurance racecars, and features F1-inspired carbon-carbon brakes. To save extra weight, some of the Valkyrie’s unnecessary luxuries have been removed. Not that it has many to begin with, since the road-going version doesn’t even have a radio.
Heater/de-mister blower and infotainment screens have been removed, and lightweight track-specific components have been added. These include a polycarbonate windshield and side windows, lighter carbon fiber construction, new suspension uprights and carbon fiber wishbones. Race seats have also been added, and the AMR Pro’s exhaust system will also be lighter than the road car’s. All these measures have resulted in a track weapon with mind-blowing performance. Top speed is estimated to be around 250 mph, and the car will be capable of cornering forces exceeding 3.3g and braking deceleration of more than 3.5g.
To put that into perspective, this will enable the Valkyrie AMR Pro to achieve lap times that rival contemporary F1 and LMP1 cars according to Aston Martin. Those are purpose-built racecars, so this level of performance in a car derived from a fully homologated road car is astonishing. Its performance is so extreme, that customers will be required to participate in an intensive driver training program to develop the skills required to tame it at speed. Drivers will even have access to Aston Martin Red Bull Racing’s facilities such as a simulator and on-track tuition. “Valkyrie has always been about pushing the limits and redefining the possible,” said Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer.
“The road car will set new benchmarks for performance, engineering and technology - a hypercar in the truest sense - and with the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro those limits will be pushed further still. It’s a remarkable project. One that’s propelling Aston Martin and 25 of our most passionate customers into a new and extraordinary realm”. Prices for the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro haven’t been announced, but that doesn’t matter because all 25 have already been sold. Deliveries are expected to start in 2020.
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