Aston Martin Valkyrie

Aston Martin Valkyrie
Overview
Manufacturer	Aston Martin
Also called	Nebula (original codename) AM-RB 001 (final codename)
Production	2018 (planned production start)
Assembly	Gaydon, Warwickshire, England
Designer	Adrian Newey
Body and chassis
Class	Sports car (S)
Body style	2-door coupé
Layout	Mid-engine
Powertrain
Engine	6.5 L Cosworth naturally-aspirated V12
Power output	1,130 hp (843 kW; 1,146 PS)
Transmission	7-speed Ricardo dual-clutch
Battery	Rimac-built KERS hybrid battery system
Dimensions
Curb weight	1,030 kg (2,271 lb)

The Aston Martin Valkyrie (also called through its code-names as AM-RB 001 and Nebula) is an upcoming production sports car collaboratively built by Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing and several other manufacturers.

The sports car is a product of collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing to create a car entirely usable and enjoyable as a road car.^[1] The car's makers claim the title of fastest street-legal car in the world for it.^[2] Its design was helped by Adrian Newey,^[3] Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer and the world's most successful F1 designer.^[4]

Its main competitors will be the Mercedes-AMG Project One and unnamed sports cars by Audi and BMW.^[5][6][7]

Nomenclature

The original codename was Nebula, and as of 2017, is currently unknown why this was chosen. The name AM-RB 001 was chosen as the final codename, and was decided since Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing had collaborated all throughout the project. AM stands for Aston Martin, and RB stands for Red Bull. 001 may be a possible reference to it being the first production car the two have collaborated on.

In March 2017, Aston Martin revealed that the car would be named Valkyrie, after the Norse mythological figure.^[8] According to Red Bull, the name was chosen to continue the tradition of Aston Martin "V" cars and to distinguish the vehicle as a high-performance car (the "V" was used as the distinguishing factor).^[9]

Design

A show car was first shown before the production car was, to give people some idea of what the car may look like. The design is nearly finished, currently in a near-production-ready form.^[10]

The exterior of the car is extremely aerodynamic for a sports car, with an extensively open underfloor that can fit an entire person, and is capable of producing 1,814 kg (4,000 lb) of downforce under acceleration, gaps from on top on the car (e.g. the front axle and the roof intake), and a large front splitter.^[11][12][13] The rims are also designed to maximize airflow.

The interior design was leaked in June 20, 2017, and gave a preview of the car's design. The interior has no gauge cluster, but rather a collection of screens. By the left and right corners are the screens for the camera side mirrors. One screen sits at the top of the center console, which may have a collection of live vehicle information, and regular vehicle controls, but this is not confirmed. A screen is used on the race-inspired steering wheel and acts as the driver gauge cluster. Dials and switches sit beside the wheel screen to allow for easier changes without driving interruption. The seats are bucket variants, and have two seat belts for each car seat.^[14]

Because of the interior's small size, it restricts your body weight from increasing in order to fit. The steering wheel helps this downside.^[15] Aston Martin has been 3D scanning their owners for the interior. This is so Aston Martin can make the seats as comfortable for the customer as possible.^[16][17]

Specifications

In February 2017, Aston Martin revealed most of the vehicle specs.^[18] The final specifications were revealed later in the year.

Several manufacturers (other than Aston Martin and Red Bull) have taken part in the Valkyrie's construction, these being Cosworth, Ricardo, Rimac Automobili, Multimatic, Alcon, Bosch, Surface Transforms, Wipac, and Michelin.

The car contains a 6.5L naturally-aspirated V12 tailored by Cosworth, which was initially supposed to make around 1,000 hp (746 kW; 1,014 PS), but it was later announced in June 2017 that the car would make 1,130 hp (843 kW; 1,146 PS). At the same time the power output was released, the weight was also mentioned, at 1,030 kg (2,271 lb), which surpasses the intended 1:1 power-to-weight ratio, with 1,097 hp (818 kW; 1,112 PS) per ton.^[19]

A Rimac-built hybrid battery system, which performs as a KERS system, is installed along with the engine. The power is delivered by a 7-speed paddle-shift transmission constructed by Ricardo. The exhausts come out nearby the engine, similar to the ones from F1 race cars and the Porsche 918 Spyder.^[20]

Bosch supplies the Valkyrie's ECU unit, traction control system, and ESP, and brakes and calipers are provided by Alcon and Surface Transforms. The front and rear lights are constructed by Wipac. Everything is made of carbon fibre and there is not a single steel component in its entire structure. The car is installed with a MonoCell from manufacturer Multimatic. Michelin supplies the Valkyrie with the company's high-performance Sport Cup 2 tyres, with 265/35-ZR20 at the front and 325/30-ZR21 at the rear.^[21] The wheels are constructed out of lightweight magnesium alloy wheels (20" front, 21" rear) with race-spec centre-lock wheel nuts to reduce mass.

Production

150 road cars are planned to be built, all at the price of US$3.2 million. Currently there is one confirmed pre-ordered car worldwide available to purchase on JamesEdition.^[22]

There will be a track version, but there is no speculation about the track-only version of the car yet, other than that there will be 25 track versions available, and that the Valkyrie track car, like the road car, is capable of producing 1,814 kg (4,000 lb) of downforce without the use of a rear wing.^[23]

Resale policy

Andy Palmer enlisted a policy in a Twitter post on July 4, 2017, stating that if the owner were to "flip" the car (buy and sell quickly to make a profit), the owner would be removed from receiving any further special editions from Aston Martin. This policy is also used for Ford's new GT sports cars.^[24]

Media

Car show appearances

• In July 2016, the Valkyrie was unveiled as a non-working full-scale model in Aston Martin's headquarters in Gaydon, Warwickshire, England, United Kingdom.^[25]
• In November 2016, the car was featured in a private Aston Martin showcase at the Etihad Towers in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, the day before the 2016 F1 Abu Dhabi Grand Prix.^[26]
• From December 2016 to February 2017, the car was featured in the 2017 Festival Automobile International in Paris, France.^[27]
• In February 2017, the car was featured as the star car in the 2017 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.^[28]
• In March 2017, the Valkyrie was featured along with the new Vanquish S Volante, the Rapide S AMR, and the V8 Vantage AMR-Pro in the 2017 Geneva Motor Show in Geneva, Switzerland.^[29]
• In May 2017, the vehicle was featured in the London Motor Show in London, England, United Kingdom.^[30]

Gaming appearances

• There is no news around the Valkyrie in gaming as of July 2017. However, due to its extremely high performance, it will likely be a top-priority car for series such as Gran Turismo and Forza to licence.
• In July 1, 2017, Rockstar Games revealed a Valkyrie-inspired sports car for their game Grand Theft Auto V, called the Dewbauchee Vagner.^[31]

See also

• Rimac Automobili

References

External links

• Aston Martin page: Valkyrie