The hotly anticipated Aston Martin Valhalla is set to go into production next year. More akin to a rocket than a car, the Valhalla represents the British marque’s first production mid-engined supercar. And, it’s received — more than — a little help from Aston Martin’s Formula 1 team, with the likes of Fernando Alonso and teammate Lance Stroll jumping behind the metaphorical steering wheel to aid the marque’s performance engineering team in informing and enhancing dynamics, aerodynamics, and materials.
You’ll also enjoy:
The Aston Martin DB12 Volante Is An Elegant Top-Down Tourer
Aston Martin Brings Brawn Back With The V12 Valour
The Aston Martin ‘Super Tourer’ DB12 Encapsulates Sensual Aggression
“It is a great advantage for a car manufacturer to have access to the unique skills and knowledge of a Formula 1 team,” says Claudio Santoni, performance technologies engineering director at Aston Martin. “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.”
With the driver experience front of mind, F1 team’s consulting arm — dubbed Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT) — bridges the gap between track and road, with input from Alonso and Stroll proving seminal in the calibration of the mid-engined monster. The interior of the forthcoming supercar also benefits by taking direct cues from Formula 1, aligning with the AMR23 race car in terms of driving position.
Formula 1 cues also underpin the aerodynamics of the Aston Martin Valhalla, with its underbody drawing from that of the AMR23. Combined with fully active aerodynamic systems at the front and rear of the vehicle, it’s able to generate over 600kg of downforce at 240km/h. Similarly, the Valhalla features multi-element wings front and rear, though the former is largely concealed. The front wing is able to lie flat to reduce drag or can be angled upwards to generate downforce.
Leading the charge in Aston Martin’s hybridisation, the powertrain of the Valhalla teams a twin-turbo flat-plane V8 with three e-motors to generate a combined 988 bhp. Two e-motors sit on the front axle, allowing the Valhalla to not only benefit from all-wheel-drive, but a reduced gearbox weight. The third e-motor is integrated into the rear eight-speed dual-clutch transmission, providing additional power to the rear wheels. The sheer brunt of the powertrain calls for torque vectoring which enables more responsive steering, better grip around corners, and improved traction upon exit.
The Formula 1 material palette also makes it off the track, with the impressive powertrain housed within a carbon fibre monocoque; which Aston Martin claims “crafted to maximise stiffness with minimal weight, guaranteeing maximum control with millimetric precision.
Thanks to input from Alonso and the gang, the first running prototype will take to the road later this year, with production set to begin in 2024.
Words by AR Staff
