Track-Honed Aerodynamics and Tailored Engineering
When Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies committed to developing the Valkyrie, the brief aimed far beyond ordinary supercar conventions. Guided by the aerodynamic genius of Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer, the project set out to translate genuine Formula 1 aerodynamic architecture and weight-saving discipline directly into a road-legal machine. Production of the road-going Valkyrie is strictly capped at 150 customer units globally, alongside 25 track-only AMR Pro variants. In January 2019, Gaydon confirmed a comprehensive program of personalization through its bespoke division, ‘Q by Aston Martin’, accompanied by a major mechanical development: the AMR Track Performance Pack.
The AMR Track Performance Pack caters specifically to owners who intend to push the car hard around high-speed circuits without sacrificing its road-legal identity. Rather than permanently transforming the hypercar into an unregisterable racing shell, the package supplies modular, track-dedicated hardware that owners can interchange with the standard road equipment. Aston Martin’s simulator data and engineering models estimate that fitting the track pack slashes lap times by approximately 8 percent compared to the baseline Valkyrie—a dramatic margin at this level of performance.
A Track-Focused Aerodynamic and Mechanical Overhaul
At the center of the AMR Track Performance Pack sits an entirely redesigned front clam. Working in concert with the Valkyrie’s vast Venturi tunnels, this revised nose assembly generates significantly higher front downforce while maintaining aerodynamic balance across the underfloor. Because aerodynamic forces multiply at racing speeds, the package also includes a dedicated second set of all exterior body panels, tailored to manage track airflow, tire spray, and abrasive circuit debris.
The chassis also receives substantial hardware revisions. Track-focused suspension components bring altered spring rates, bespoke anti-roll geometry, and revised damping curves specifically matched to slick tires and severe aerodynamic loading. Stopping duties in the track pack are handed to lightweight titanium brake calipers and specialized rotors, cutting unsprung mass at each corner. Completing the running gear is a set of ultra-lightweight magnesium wheels finished in matte black, accompanied by carbon-fiber aero-disks designed to smooth turbulent wheel-well air and reduce drag down long straights.
Beyond the vehicle hardware, Aston Martin enables owners to extend the track day ritual into the pit lane. The options catalog includes tailored pit garage accessories and custom racing suits tailored to the driver’s measurements and livery choices. For the exterior finish of cars fitted with the track pack, buyers can choose between three distinctive AMR racing liveries—such as the evocative Stirling Green with Lime accents—or create an individual livery via the ‘Q by Aston Martin – Commission’ bespoke branch.
Road-Going Elegance: Designer Themes and Bespoke Commissioning
For buyers keeping their Valkyrie configured exclusively for road use, Aston Martin established four Designer Specification themes. Curated directly by Marek Reichman’s Gaydon design team, these themes provide balanced aesthetics that emphasize the car’s dramatic surfacing. The designer themes feature bespoke paint colors developed specifically for this program: Slipstream Green, Liquid Petroleum, Ethanol Silver, and Maximum Orange. Each theme coordinates body color with tailored cockpit materials and exterior accents, presenting a cohesive vision for owners who prefer not to start with a blank canvas.
Those with a distinct personal vision can enter the Ultimate Personalisation program via ‘Q by Aston Martin – Commission’. This VIP service pairs the customer directly with the design team at Gaydon to refine every millimeter of the car. Standard build specifications feature a gloss black roof and rear engine cover, but commissioned builds can replace those surfaces with exposed carbon fiber. That weave can carry continuously across the cantrails under a deep gloss lacquer, emphasizing the teardrop shape of the passenger cell. Even the exhaust outlets are customizable: while the textured tailpipes and silencer are finished in silver as standard, owners can specify an all-black treatment. In an automotive first, Aston Martin also developed ultra-thin, full-titanium wings badges, replacing standard enamel emblems to save fractions of a gram.
Cockpit Ergonomics: Minimalist Engineering Meets Haute Couture
Step inside the Valkyrie cabin, and the Formula 1 racing influence becomes immediately apparent. The packaging is tight and uncompromised. Occupants sit in a reclined, feet-up driving posture reminiscent of a Grand Prix cockpit, with seat pads mounted directly to the carbon-fiber monocoque tub. Every surface inside the cockpit serves an ergonomic or structural purpose, stripped of extraneous decorative weight.
Personalization options inside are exhaustive. Gaydon offers a wide selection of Alcantara shades, stitching patterns, and surface textures for the seat pads. Six distinct harness colors allow owners to coordinate interior restraints with exterior graphics or create bold interior contrast against the raw carbon-fiber cabin walls. For an unexpected touch of luxury, Aston Martin adapted the woven leather craftsmanship first pioneered on the One-77, offering it as an accent option across the door pockets and armrests.
Switchgear, Mokume Carbon, and 24-Carat Detailing
To keep the driver focused on the road or track ahead, all primary vehicle controls and switchgear are concentrated directly on the steering wheel, leaving the narrow dashboard clean and uncluttered. A centrally mounted display screen shows critical engine and chassis telemetry. The wheel switches can be finished in anodized silver, satin black, or racing red. For the ultimate purist specification, ‘Q by Aston Martin’ offers custom switches milled from solid titanium, reinforcing the hypercar’s weight-saving ethos.
Beyond traditional lightweight materials, the personalization division introduced two striking showcase packages. The Gold Pack integrates 24-carat gold leaf beneath the clear coat lacquer of the body panels, requiring painstaking artisanal application before the protective gloss is baked on. For enthusiasts fascinated by cutting-edge composite design, the Mokume Carbon Fibre option pack introduces what Aston Martin terms ‘Carbon Jewellery’. Inspired by the traditional Japanese wood-grain metalworking technique Mokume-gane, this material layers and shapes carbon fiber to produce an organic, topographical grain pattern. On the Valkyrie, Mokume Carbon adorns the inner scoops of the headlights, sidepod turning vanes, interior armrests, central ventilation outlets, and the steering wheel faceplate, combining genuine weight reduction with distinctive visual texture.
Virtual Reality Specification at Gaydon
Because the combinations of liveries, aerodynamic body panels, composite weaves, and cockpit trim run into the thousands, Aston Martin developed an immersive virtual reality specification system installed at its Gaydon headquarters. Rather than relying solely on material swatches and digital paint samples, Valkyrie buyers don high-resolution VR headsets to inspect their exact configuration in real time, walking around a life-sized rendering of the car under simulated lighting conditions and examining interior textures from the driver’s seat. This process ensures that when the final vehicle enters hand-assembly, every specification aligns perfectly with the buyer’s intent.
Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s Executive Vice President and Chief Creative Officer, highlighted the philosophy guiding this project: “This is simply the best car in the world if you want something bespoke and we are really pushing the boundaries to match the dreams of our customers. Every single element of this hypercar, including its performance, can be personalized. The materials are very much about science, the art of creativity and the ability to create a unique solution that doesn’t detract from this exceptional car’s performance capability.”
Atmospheric V12 Powertrain: The Cosworth Masterpiece
The mechanical heart underpinning the Valkyrie program remains one of the most remarkable internal combustion engines ever engineered for automotive use. Unveiled by Aston Martin and engineering partner Cosworth in late 2018, the bespoke naturally aspirated 6.5-liter 65-degree V12 engine revs to an astonishing 11,100 rpm redline. Operating without turbochargers or superchargers, the engine produces an extraordinary 1,000 brake horsepower (1,014 metric PS) at 10,500 rpm—delivering 153.8 horsepower per liter purely through atmospheric induction—and 740 Nm of torque at 7,000 rpm.
Weighing just 206 kilograms, the V12 acts as a fully stressed structural member of the chassis, bolting directly to the rear of the carbon-fiber monocoque tub and carrying the rear suspension linkages. A battery-hybrid powertrain system engineered by Rimac and Integral Powertrain supplements the V12, driving the rear wheels through a Ricardo seven-speed paddle-shift transmission to provide instant low-end torque fill and electrical boost during acceleration. Paired with Adrian Newey’s underfloor Venturi aerodynamics—which generate massive downforce without the massive drag penalty of conventional wings—the Valkyrie bridges the gap between road cars and frontline Le Mans prototypes in a manner never before attempted.
With customer deliveries scheduled to commence following ongoing testing cycles, the release of the AMR Track Performance Pack and the extensive Q personalization options ensures that no two Valkyries will leave Gaydon in identical form. Whether specified for pure track-day precision or configured as a bespoke road-going sculpture, the Valkyrie stands as a defining monument to naturally aspirated performance and aerodynamic engineering.
Vehicle data
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Make | Aston Martin |
| Model | Valkyrie (with AMR Track Performance Pack) |
| Generation / chassis code | First generation (project code AM-RB 001) |
| Model year(s) covered | 2019 announcement (2019–2020 development) |
| Body style | 2-door, 2-seat coupe / hypercar |
| Powertrain / engine | 6.5-liter naturally aspirated 65° V12 (Cosworth RA) with Rimac / Integral Powertrain battery-hybrid system |
| Power / torque | Engine: 1,000 bhp (1,014 PS) @ 10,500 rpm / 740 Nm @ 7,000 rpm (combined hybrid system output ~1,160 bhp) |
| Transmission | 7-speed Ricardo single-clutch paddle-shift sequential gearbox |
| Drivetrain | Rear-wheel drive (mid-mounted engine, structural unit) |
| Key performance figures | ~8% quicker lap times with AMR Track Performance Pack; 11,100 rpm redline; top speed >400 km/h (>250 mph) estimated |
| Price (as stated) | Approximately £2.5 million / $3.2 million (options and track pack extra) |
| On-sale / announcement period | January 2019 (options & AMR Track Pack announcement; 150 road car units strictly limited) |
| Market | Global |