Why the Valkyrie isn’t your traditional Aston When we dream about Aston Martins, we aren’t thinking about some monster that will break records on Tracks or in a straight line. Instead, we dream about being James Bond, sliding through Monaco, shooting at criminals in a sophisticated and elegant grand tourer. A car for gentlemen and spies rather than posers, and racers. The Valkyrie though, throws away almost everything we know and love about Astons. This wild look-at-me, monstrous hypercar was the brainchild of a collaboration between Aston Martin and Adrian Newey of Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies. Both it and the AMG ONE, are the closest machines to an F1 car for the road. This car is primarily constructed of carbon fibre, with a monocoque chassis and aluminium components on the suspension. Inside, the Alcantara teardrop cockpit is narrow and bare, with a clear focus on “the drive.” The car also features a 70-micron-thick aluminium badge and lightweight headlights. The result is that it weighs a featherweight 1030kg. In fact, the only heavy component is its 6.5L Cosworth Developed KERS-Assisted V12 powerhouse that generates an immense 1140 horsepower and 664 lb-ft of torque. Couple this with the lightweight body and the 7-speed single clutch gearbox and the results are immense. This car has a power-to-weight ratio of 1106 horsepower per tonne, more than any road car in production. And that means 0-62mph takes a blistering 2.5 seconds and the top speed is an equally blistering 250mph. All the while that glorious V12 is screaming away at 11,100 rpm. But the Valkyrie's main strength isn’t straight-line speed. Thanks to its adjustable flaps, wide front splitter, enormous rear diffuser, teardrop cockpit, Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres and winglets all around, this car produces 1100kg of downforce and generates 3.3g when cornering. Which means its corners are like a flea. The Valkyrie truly is an Aston unlike any other. It isn’t designed to cruise down from London to Monaco in a Tuxedo. It is designed to set lap records around Silverstone in a race suit, and just recently, it did just that. The Record-Smashing Lap: A Truly Incredible Feet Despite Less Than Ideal Conditions The Valkyrie truly had its work cut out on the day of its lap record, as conditions were less than ideal. Recent rains made the track damp in patches and a previous motorcycle race left the track incredibly slippery. At the helm of the Valkyrie was three-time LeMans class winner and Aston’s chief test driver, Darren Turner. During the record run, he stated, “It blows my mind that this is a road-legal car, it performed brilliantly. The acceleration and top speed are way beyond anything that I’ve raced at Le Mans. With active aero, and the car’s ability to optimise downforce as you accelerate, the speed just keeps climbing.” It was certainly quite the event, down the Hamilton Straight, the Valkyrie was screaming at 170mph and down the Hangar, a whopping 180mph. In braking an impressive 1.9G and in the corners, the full 3.3g. The result was an astonishing 1:56.42 lap, making this the fastest production car at Silverstone. Let’s put this into perspective in the following points:· This is the first road car to break the 2-minute barrier at Silverstone.· The previous road record holder, a Manthey Racing Porsche GT2 RS is over 10 seconds slower with a time of 2:06.83 and it did it on a bone-dry circuit.· The Valkyrie is a full second faster than a full-fledged race-derived Lamborghini Huracan GT3 with a time of 1:58.17.· This road car is less than half a minute slower than Max Verstappen’s 2020 Red Bull RB16 F1 car, which also set its record in the bone dry. Turner agreed that, “maybe on a day that was kinder with the conditions we could find a few more tenths if not more.” Nevertheless, he felt the Valkyrie, “performed brilliantly, and gave it its all.” Astons are now real players in the Hypercar game: AMG One comparison coming when? When this incredible time the Valkyrie has truly changed the status quo for Aston Martin. With its astonishing lap record, it proves that when Aston put their minds to it they aren’t just about suave gentleman cruisers. That they too can build serious players that can one-up Ferrari, McLaren and Porsche. But with this record one question remains, is the Valkyrie faster than its chief rival, the AMG One? Both cars are now the kings of their respective countries' iconic tracks. The AMG One is the King of the Nürburgring with its impressive time of 6:29.09 and the Valkyrie is the ruler of Silverstone with its astonishing 1:56.42 lap record. Both cars are also heavily inspired by Formula 1, in which both manufacturers compete. Yet never has anyone done a comparison test between these two monsters. Well hopefully in the future, we at F1rstMotors promise to do a fully-fledged comparison test, hopefully at the Dubai Autodrome. Then we can truly determine, who is faster, the “King of the Ring” or the “Silverstone Smasher”. AMG ONE or Valkyrie? Source: Aston Martin
