Late last year, British sports-car maker Aston Martin revealed that its upcoming Valkyrie hypercar would be fitted with a 6.5-liter V12 engine producing a mighty 1,000hp at 10,500rpm. At the time, however, the firm only released info about the internal-combustion engine and otherwise kept mum about any additional horses possibly added by means of hybrid electrification. Well, that just changed. Ladies and gentlemen, the official final power output of the maddest-looking supercar to ever leave a British workshop is 1,160hp, with the additional 160 ponies having been added through the use of a battery-electric system.
The ultra-exclusive world of hypercars might soon add a new member with the arrival of the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Now that we know the total level of road-going lunacy that’s about to be unleashed from a small town in the south of England, it’s much easier to imagine how this machine will give the likes of McLaren, Porsche and Ferrari a run for their money. The 206kg Cosworth-developed V12 engine quite literally does most of the heavy lifting, as it not only develops most of the power but also acts as a fully stressed element of the car. And it will rev up to 11,100rpm thanks to its use of parts like Formula 1-spec pistons and titanium connecting rods.
Because we live in a time where having 1,000 horses at your disposal clearly isn’t enough anymore, Aston Martin has now also added a battery-electric system developed by Croatian firm Rimac and British EV specialist Integral Powertrain Ltd. This KERS-style boost system similar to the ones used on F1 cars will provide an additional 160hp of output and 280Nm of torque for those rare moments when you need to race fighter jets. Peak torque of the whole powertrain stands at 900Nm when the needle hits 6,000rpm, and although the firm hasn’t given any speed figures yet, we think it’s fair to say that this car might be a Bugatti killer in the making.
The Valkyrie takes its name from a female figure in Norse mythology, and was developed in cooperation with Red Bull Advanced Technologies. There will be an emissions-compliant road-going version, of which 150 units will be built, and an even crazier Valkyrie AMR Pro edition for track use, which is said to be limited to just 25 examples. According to Aston Martin, the first proper prototypes are currently being assembled, meaning it won’t be too long before the world sees one roaring around the English countryside. With a price tag of $3.2 million (P166 million) for the road-legal version, you’ll need a lottery-type windfall if you want to park one in your garage. Which is to say you won’t be able to (sorry).
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