THE STRIKING ASTON MARTIN VALHALLA EDGES CLOSER TO PRODUCTION, PACKED WITH F1 TECH.
Aston Martin’s Valhalla supercar has been popping up in motoring-related newsfeeds for around two years now, and every time we see it there has been more development and more work done on all facets of the car. There’s only really one of these cars around, a working prototype that looks very much like it is ready for production, it’s been seen and reviewed by all the biggest YouTube channels and motoring publications and has even been seen flying up the famed hill at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. There will eventually be 999 more of these cars, but for now, the British automaker is focussing all its efforts on integrating the latest and best filter-down technology and race-proven methodologies, expertise and technologies employed by the Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One team. Marco Mattiacci, Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of Aston Martin said: “Aston Martin’s vision is to build a range of exceptional, class-leading driver-focused cars, crucial in the expansion of our core product line-up. As such our first series production mid-engine supercar will be transformational for this ultra-luxury performance brand as well as for the mid-engine segment. Valhalla represents Aston Martin’s first joint development integration between our road car engineers and Aston Martin Aramco Cognizant Formula One® team’s F1® engineering capabilities through Aston Martin Performance Technologies and demonstrates Aston Martin’s breadth of capabilities with the technical support and expertise of Formula 1.” The technical crossover between Aston Martin is facilitated by the consulting arm of the team, Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT), which is directly assisting Aston Martin’s performance engineering team in three key areas of development - dynamics, aerodynamics and materials.
Claudio Santoni, Aston Martin Performance Technologies Engineering Director, said: “It is a great advantage for a car manufacturer to have access to the unique skills and knowledge of a Formula 1® team. F1® engineers are constantly pushing the boundaries in the pursuit of performance and have developed rapid problem-solving tools. With this knowledge ‘in house’ we can seamlessly bring F1® expertise to road car development.” Driving dynamics have been improved by using the same simulators used to do the same with the F1 cars using input from Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso can take vehicle dynamics to a new level as they continue to push the car to the extreme edge of its performance capabilities. The cockpit layout has also taken cues from the F1 cars and drivers. The amazing aerodynamics of the F1 cars have also filtered down, evident when seeing the underbody of the Valhalla where most of its downforce is generated, and being free from F1 rules the car features a fully active aerodynamic package that constantly works to optimise downforce. A host of vortex generators and louvres can be found around the Valhalla. The most interesting part to use F1 tech is the powerplant, a hybrid setup using a twin-turbocharged flat-plane V8 mated to a trio of e-motors that culminates in 745 kW of power that’s sent to all four wheels. Carlo Della Casa, Aston Martin Product Development Director said: “The knowledge and experience of the AMF1 team personnel at Aston Martin Performance Technologies combined with the skills and know how of our road car development teams has enabled us to bring direct F1® learnings to sportscar development. Our target for Valhalla is to produce a supercar that will set best-in-class standards for performance, dynamics and driving pleasure. Valhalla will use active technologies to reduce the gap between the “Gentlemen driver” and the professional one on track. Having open access to the knowledge within the AMF1® team has been a huge advantage for us as we develop this incredible car.”
Take a look at the YouTube video from the folk at Aston Martin showing a load of the technical innovations and Formula 1-derived technology and how it helps to make the upcoming hybrid-powered hypercar as special and fast as it's planned to be. : Aston Martin Valhalla | Engineering done differently. | Aston Martin
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