Aston Martin started producing the Valkyrie 18 months ago. The supercar is unlike anything else on the road, looking like the star of a sci-fi flick. There aren’t many in the world, with Aston limiting production to just 150 examples. It’s a rare beast, but a new video captures the supercar ripping around Hockenheimring, unleashing the full fury of its V12 engine, which is not just any ordinary powertrain.
The Valkyrie uses a Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter V12 engine, which is exciting in its own right. It revs up to 11,000 rpm and makes around 1,000 horsepower. However, Aston Martin also enhanced the output with an F1-inspired KERS-style boost system that adds an extra 160 hp, taking the total output to 1,140 hp. The hybrid setup makes 664 pound-feet of torque, which lets the car hit 60 miles per hour in an alleged 2.5 seconds. Its top speed is well over 200 mph.
The Valkyrie doesn’t reach that speed in the video, but it does accelerate quickly. The video shows the car tearing around the race track with the V12 fully unleashed – and it sounds downright demonic. The Valkyrie looks like a futuristic race car, which Aston made as the Valkyrie AMR Pro. It lacks the non-Pro’s electric assist but still churns out 1,000 hp. Aston only made 25 of those, so good luck seeing one in the real world. And don’t expect to buy one, as Aston quickly sold them all.
The Valkyrie’s bonkers output and other wooly performance are aided by its low weight. It tips the scales at just over 2,200 pounds, which is impressive for a hybrid. Aston’s extensive use of lightweight materials like carbon fiber and titanium helped keep the pounds off and the price high.
The extensive build process adds to the cost, originally costing $3 million. It takes a team of skilled technicians over 2,000 hours to hand-build each car. With the automotive future likely shifting toward full battery-electric vehicles, supercars like the Valkyrie might soon be a thing of the past. Or turn into something even rarer.
