THE ASTON MARTIN VARIANT IS A TRACK-FOCUSED 745 HP TWIN-TURBOCHARGED V12 WITH A 6-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION!
Aston Martin has always been guilty of making stunning cars, the more modern among them having a brutish, imposing presence. It doesn’t matter which model you look at, the design architecture is unmistakable, unless you’re talking about the latest car to be revealed. If we had first seen the images with the badge removed, we’d be hard-pressed to tell you exactly what car we were looking at. If you look really close though, you’ll see that it’s a more streamlined, race-style evolution of the company’s retro-inspired Valour. Many people haven’t seen or heard of the Valour, so this track-focused version called the Variant will be most intriguing. As is often the case with cars of this calibre, it will be a highly exclusive model with a small production run of just 38 units planned - and all are already spoken for too. They’ll no doubt all end up in private collections that will only ever be seen when the wealthy owners host house parties or let YouTubers make videos of their garages, but luckily the first one will see its debut taking place at the upcoming Goodwood Festival of Speed. It will also be piloted by Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team driver Fernando Alonso, and that means the Variant will surely be pushed to its limits so the world can see what the car is capable of in real-world driving conditions. Alonso isn’t just driving the car because he’s part of the Aston Martin family, he’s driving the car because the whole concept of a track-focused variant (see what I did there ) was his idea. He wanted a lightweight, more extreme, and taking inspiration from his 23-year career in Formula 1 and his passion for driving at the limit, the Valiant was born. The car was to be a strictly limited-edition special designed and crafted by the experts in Aston Martin’s bespoke division: Q by Aston Martin. How cool is it that the customisation side of Aston Martin is called Q? Named after the gadget inventor in the James Bond movies, which explains why Bond is seen in an Aston Martin at least once in every movie.
Fernando Alonso, Aston Martin Aramco Formula One® Team driver said: “Valour was a spectacular celebration of Aston Martin's 110th anniversary, and stirred me to create a more extreme, race car inspired version that was track focussed, while also delivering a thrilling drive on-road. Valiant is born from my passion for driving at the limit and I have enjoyed working closely with the Q by Aston Martin team on both the design and technical specification and believe we have created a masterpiece.” Speaking of the new Valiant, Marco Mattiacci, Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of Aston Martin said: “Valiant is a modern masterpiece. A creation of Q by Aston Martin, inspired by a racing legend and conceived using the latest F1® inspired technology, exotic materials and obsessive weight reduction. It focuses on placing the driver in a truly unique, intense and emotional driving experience. The ultimate blend of performance, track-focused dynamics and hypercar intensity, Valiant embodies Aston Martin’s determined commitment to build rare and extraordinary cars for true drivers”.
The Aston Martin Variant features a bespoke chassis with Multimatic ASV dampers and recalibrated electronics and the bodywork is a full carbon fibre affair with some changes to the side skirts, front spoiler, and a new rear wing that joins the rear incorporated into the rear fenders - and it looks amazing. With it being track-oriented, the Variant needed a proper setup, and it’s been given the Aston Martin’s amazing twin-turbocharged 5.2-litre V12 engine that’s rated at a whopping 548 kW (745 hp) of power with 753 Nm of torque - and one of the coolest parts is that its mated to a 6-speed manual transmission to keep it as much of a driver’s car as possible in this new age of DCT and CVT. Simon Newton, Aston Martin’s Director of Vehicle Performance, said: “With Valiant we’ve shifted the emphasis towards much-increased track capability while retaining enough useability to remain enjoyable on the road. We’ve moved the dial in every key area to extract greater performance and deliver more excitement; increased power delivery from the V12 to develop 745 hp; perfecting the chassis set-up with Multimatic ASV dampers; re-sculpting the body to produce more downforce; and employing lightweight materials and processes to reduce mass. Above all we have put the driver right at the heart of the action; honing control weights for maximum satisfaction; perfecting the shift action of the manual transmission; ensuring the increased handling limits remain accessible and rewarding. It all combines to create an amazing experience Valiant owners won’t find in any other car”. The performance figures haven’t been released yet, but we’re sure they’ll be revealed before Alonso takes the first one up the Goodwood hill in a few weeks.
Take a look at the YouTube video from the British greats as they showcase the stunning track-focused Variant in all it's twin-turbocharged V12 glory: Aston Martin Valiant | For Your Sins | Aston Martin
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