Aston Martin begins a thrilling new chapter in its illustrious competition history with the reveal of its Valkyrie hypercar – a pure racer bred from the road that will return the British ultra-luxury performance car brand to the pinnacle of endurance motor sport and allow it to bid for overall victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The only competitor that is derived from a road-legal hypercar, the Valkyrie is the first racing car built to the FIA's 'Hypercar' regulations that will contest both the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship (IMSA). It will make its world competition debut when the works Aston Martin THOR Team enters two Valkyries in the opening round of the 2025 WEC, at the Qatar 1812Km on 28 February.
The new car, developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT) and THOR, is unique in the top Hypercar division of global endurance motorsport in that it is the only one among its contemporaries to derive its roots from an existing production-based extreme performance car – Aston Martin Valkyrie, the ultimate hypercar.
The ultimate road-legal hypercar developed for the track
"The Aston Martin Valkyrie is not just a hypercar; it is a revolution in automotive engineering history representing the pinnacle of performance, design and innovation," said Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport Adam Carter. "With an extraordinary fusion of F1 technology and road car mastery, Valkyrie is truly built for racing and its participation in the highest level of world endurance racing will only further cement its technological achievement.
"By adhering to the Hypercar rules, the race car shares many strands of DNA with the road car, with the same V12 power unit at its heart."
The race-optimised carbon fibre chassis Valkyrie is powered by a modified, lean-burn version of the sensational Cosworth-built 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine, which in standard road-going form revs to 11,000rpm and develops over 1000bhp. The power unit is enhanced and adapted to meet the performance window of the Hypercar class and developed to withstand the rigours of top-level long-distance competition. The choice of a V12 throughout the Valkyrie bloodline offers clear performance benefits, while also matching the Aston Martin aesthetic for a pure racing solution.
It would be almost unimaginable for Adrian Newey to design a car and not think about it going racing at some point.
The hypercar regulations offer advantages for a V12 that had robustness built in from its inception to match its high duty-cycle as a road car. For racing, fuel efficiency has become a particular focus of development.
"Running lean to reduce the amount of fuel you are carrying to deliver the required stint energy is important," said Carter. "We operate the engine slower than it's capable of because we require less power. The lower power limit within the regulations creates an opportunity for us to revisit the torque curve and reduce frictional losses by reducing engine speed to increase fuel efficiency."
The architectural hand of Adrian Newey
The evolution of the Valkyrie hypercar was developed to meet the regulation homologation criteria and was enabled by the solid baseline rooted in the road car, created by its architects Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman and Adrian Newey – who in March 2025 joins Aston Martin Aramco Formula One Team as Managing Technical Partner. "It would be almost unimaginable for Adrian, one of the greatest racing car designers in history, to design a car and not think about it going racing at some point," said Carter.
Welcome to the Aston Martin Valkyrie
Discover the Valkyrie hypercar, taken from the road to the track in the beginning of a new quest for 24 Hours of Le Mans glory.
This is the return of a British icon to the pinnacle of endurance racing. Ready to write the next chapter in a story that began in 1959.
The transformation from road to race car is dictated predominantly by the FIA's technical regulations written for the specific parameters of competition, in terms of both safety and performance. To meet the challenges of racing, including rapid driver and tyre changes and live refuelling at pitstops, plus the possibility of car-to-car contact, developments include quick-change front and rear bodywork, a single-point rapid refuelling coupling, a high-speed pneumatic jack system incorporated into the chassis and a driver cockpit optimised for safety, quick access and visibility.
The Valkyrie is an embodiment of our enduring sporting ethos, one that has defined the brand for more than century.
The racing suspension configuration features double wishbones front and rear, with pushrod actuated torsion bar springs with adjustable side and central dampers. The Valkyrie runs on 18-inch Michelin Pilot Sport tyres that are mandatory under the Hypercar regulations.
"The absolute performance is limited by the regulations, irrespective of development," explained Carter. "There's a minimum weight, a power limitation through driveshaft torque control and an aerodynamic performance window. Every competitors' car model gets measured in a full-size wind tunnel. So, it's about optimising the characteristics of the Valkyrie within the fundamental performance contributors."
That approach has also dictated key design decisions in the specification of the racing car, including its Xtrac seven-speed sequential transmission operated by semi-automatic paddle shift gear change.
"As with every competition Aston Martin, ultimately we are taking an extremely performant vehicle and tailoring its characteristics and capabilities to the requirements of the regulations, and within that optimising the performance opportunities," said Carter. "We have undertaken all of this work hand in hand with Aston Martin's world-renowned design studio and with Aston Martin Performance Technologies taking a principal role in development."
"This is a proud moment for Aston Martin," said Aston Martin Lagonda CEO Adrian Hallmark. "To be returning to the fight for overall honours at the 24 Hours of Le Mans exists at the very core of our values and marks a key milestone in our motor racing heritage. As the only hypercar born from the road to challenge at the top of sports car racing in both the WEC and IMSA, the Valkyrie is an embodiment of our enduring sporting ethos, one that has defined the brand for more than century."
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