A TRACK-PREPPED VERSION OF THE AWESOME ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE IS HEADED TO THE 24 HOURS OF LE MANS
The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro is a sight to behold, and it can please the ears just as much thanks to the sound emanating from the highly tuned normally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine. The Valkyrie AMR Pro is an engineering masterpiece built solely for track use and so there were no restrictions in place and no need to tame things down for road use. The high-strung V12 is rated to produce over 1000 hp with a high 11 000 rpm available, perfect for stretching legs on a long race circuit and exploiting the 362 km/h top speed. With the car intended solely for track use, it makes sense that at some point the engineers and top brass would want to prepare the car or a version of it to compete in an actual race series, and that’s exactly what has happened. To get the Valkyrie legal for competitive use in the increasingly popular Hypercar Class, the power unit has been enhanced to incorporate the critical Balance of Performance requirements and is tweaked to withstand the conditions thrown at it during prolonged high-speed driving - race pace. Once the Valkyrie is homologated, the Heart of Racing team will spearhead Aston Martin’s programmes in the WEC and IMSA series which will make the Valkyrie the first purebred hypercar to participate in both championship series. Over and above that its also the only car among its rivals that has a link to an actual pre-existing production car.
At least one Valkyrie racecar will be entered in the top Hypercar class of each of the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships [IMSA] from 2025. This means the prototype Valkyrie will be able to race in three of the world’s most iconic and celebrated races, the 24-Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, said: “Performance is the lifeblood of everything that we do at Aston Martin, and motorsport is the ultimate expression of this pursuit of excellence. We have been present at Le Mans since the earliest days, and through those glorious endeavours we succeeded in winning Le Mans in 1959 and our class 19 times over the past 95 years. Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs aiming to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the fastest production car Aston Martin has ever built. In addition to our presence in the FIA Formula 1 World Championship, Aston Martin’s return to the pinnacle of endurance racing will allow us to build a deeper connection with our customers and community, many of whom found their passion for the brand through our past success at Le Mans. And of course, the complex knowledge-base we are building through our F1® team is data that Aston Martin Performance Technologies can harness to further enhance the capabilities of the Valkyrie racecar at Le Mans, in WEC and IMSA. Just as the learnings we gain through endurance competition will feed directly into our road car programmes, further improving the ultimate performance of our products. I would like to thank Gabe Newell and Heart of Racing for partnering with Aston Martin on this programme, and I look forward to working with him and the team as we aim for success in the greatest endurance race of them all.”
Take a look at the YouTube video that reveals the absolutely stunning Aston Martin Valkyrie is headed to compete with the world's best at the 24-hours of Le Mans in 2025. Just for added impact, the video shows glimpses of all the different forms of motorsport that Aston Martin excels in, in a move to back up the Valkyrie with a rich motorsport history: Aston Martin Valkyrie to fight for Le Mans Victory in 2025 | Aston Martin
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