Photo: Aston Martin
A high-revving Cosworth V12. Rear-wheel drive. KERS hybrid battery system. Seven-speed Ricardo dual-clutch transmission. Red Bull Racing aerodynamic trickery. The Valkyrie promises a lot, but Aston Martin wants to prove the worth of the AM-RB 001 on the world’s most demanding circuit.
Speaking to Car Sales, head honcho Andy Palmer let it slip that Aston Martin is eyeing a record-breaking lap on the Nordschleife. “In most cases, a Nurburgring lap is not important (…). In reality, we're not developing it for that,” said the chief executive officer.
“It's not what it's meant for but we'll probably end up setting a time,” he added, concluding that “it will be f###ing quick there.” Mercedes-AMG said the Project One could beat the Porsche 919 Evo on the Green Hell, but Tobias Moers doesn’t see the point of doing it. Given these circumstances, it would be easy for Aston Martin to take up the challenge.
If everything goes to plan, then the engineers have to ensure the Valkyrie is capable of averaging more than 238 km/h (147.8 mph) over 20.81 kilometers (12.93 miles) of racing track. But there’s a catch, and it has to do with the development of the Valkyrie.
"Silverstone and Spa are so far where all the development work on our Valkyrie simulators have been done,” said Palmer, claiming that “it’s amazing how fast you can take Eau Rouge.” The most famous part of the Belgian circuit is summed up as a left-right-left series of corners coupled to a blind summit, a thrilling and unique experience for anyone behind the steering wheel.
As far as the British circuit is concerned, the Valkyrie laps Silverstone “as fast as an F1 car” according to the cited publication. With 1,816 kilograms (4,003.6 pounds) of downforce at high speed, we wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case outside of the simulator as well.
150 examples of the breed will ever be made for the road, and a further 25 units will be finished in Valkyrie AMR Pro specification for on-track action. Pricing starts at close to $3.2 million, translating to a blue-chip investment given the rarity and specialness of the AM-RB 001.
“It's not what it's meant for but we'll probably end up setting a time,” he added, concluding that “it will be f###ing quick there.” Mercedes-AMG said the Project One could beat the Porsche 919 Evo on the Green Hell, but Tobias Moers doesn’t see the point of doing it. Given these circumstances, it would be easy for Aston Martin to take up the challenge.
If everything goes to plan, then the engineers have to ensure the Valkyrie is capable of averaging more than 238 km/h (147.8 mph) over 20.81 kilometers (12.93 miles) of racing track. But there’s a catch, and it has to do with the development of the Valkyrie.
"Silverstone and Spa are so far where all the development work on our Valkyrie simulators have been done,” said Palmer, claiming that “it’s amazing how fast you can take Eau Rouge.” The most famous part of the Belgian circuit is summed up as a left-right-left series of corners coupled to a blind summit, a thrilling and unique experience for anyone behind the steering wheel.
As far as the British circuit is concerned, the Valkyrie laps Silverstone “as fast as an F1 car” according to the cited publication. With 1,816 kilograms (4,003.6 pounds) of downforce at high speed, we wouldn’t be surprised if that were the case outside of the simulator as well.
150 examples of the breed will ever be made for the road, and a further 25 units will be finished in Valkyrie AMR Pro specification for on-track action. Pricing starts at close to $3.2 million, translating to a blue-chip investment given the rarity and specialness of the AM-RB 001.
Google News