Before the beginning of the holiday season, Aston Martin blessed the eyes of motorsport enthusiasts with glimpses of Valhalla, being tested at the home of British grand prix, the Silverstone Circuit. Aston Martin Valhalla is a 998-hp hypercar that derives its power from an Affalterbach-sourced V8 and three electric motors. The last time the world saw Valhalla was at the Geneva Motor Show in 2019, and according to Aston Martin, their hypercar production will start in 2024.
From the photos released, the Valhalla is pacing like a beast from the dense forest. The green imprints on the carbon black paint appear like a job done by a maestro. The Valhalla looks beefier and more dominant than the Geneva Motor Show concept shown in 2019. Earlier, it was reported that Valhalla would be a sensible version of Valkyrie, but seems like Aston Martin has deleted that concept file and headed with the idea of giving its own separate identity.
The tried and tested Mercedes-AMG 4.0L twin-turbo V8 is the heart of Valhalla, which also features in the 2023 Aston Martin DBX-707 and every top-performing Mercedes-AMG car. The engine pushes the rear wheels, and the electric motor pulls the front wheels. According to Aston Martin, Valhalla's top speed is 217 mph, and 0 to 60 in just 2.5 seconds. The third electric motor is attached to the 8-speed DCT, which has an electronically assisted reverse gear.
However, the new photos of Valhalla appear a little bigger and different from the website images. The side air intakes look expanded, and so does the elongated grille. Aston Martin must have run endless tests on the Valhalla and made progressive changes, but the actual performance test will be conducted only when the car is out for sale.
The significant new change visible in the latest photos of Valhalla is the installation of an active aero spoiler. Hydraulically operated, this spoiler reacts towards different driving modes in less than 0.5 seconds, as reported by the aerodynamic development team of Aston Martin.
Heavily inspired by the F1 cars, Valhalla uses a Drag Reduction System (DRS) that minimizes the drag and opens up the hypercar to 217 mph. The DRS when closed also produces immense downforce to halt down at crazy speed in seconds. Additionally, DRS plays an important role in the 992 generation 911 GT3 RS to record 6:49.328 minutes of lap record at Nürburgring, Nordschleife.
The easter egg that many people will ignore in the specifications of Valhalla is the active front wing that impacts the downforce of the vehicle to keep it grounded even if it's revving at 8,000 rpm.
Aston Martin says they will create only 999 of them and will cost $8,00,000. As we have entered the era of hybrid hypercars, as soon as the Valhalla is launched it will be compared to the 2024 Lamborghini Revuelto and the 2024 Ferrari SF90 XX.
The Valhalla on paper and from photos sounds astronomically extravagant, but wait till you hear the price of its elder brother Valkyrie, which is priced at $3.5 million. A 6.5L V12 mated with electric motors makes 1139 hp, that can hit 0 to 60 mph in 2.3 seconds. Only 150 standard and 25 AMR PRO models will be manufactured.
Global Chief Brand and Commercial Officer of Aston Martin, Marco Mattiacci says “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.”
