Aston Martin Plans To Take The Valkyrie’s Successor To Le Mans

After decades of concentrating on front-engined sports cars, Aston Martin is betting big on a new family of mid-engined exotics. It’s working on delivering the new Valkyrie to its eagerly awaiting customers. It has another, (relatively) lower-end model in the works – expected to carry the Vanquish name – to go after the likes of the Ferrari 488 and McLaren 720S. And it’s already working on another new hypercar. Not only that, but it plans to take it racing, too.

Known within inner circles as the “son” or “brother of Valkyrie,” the new model is tipped to form the basis for Aston’s assault on a new top class of sports endurance racers at Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

The automaker was originally expected to build its contender upon the Valkyrie (pictured here in AMR Pro spec). But with that model soon to hit the road and the implementation of the new regulations still a ways off, Autocar reports that the Valkyrie’s next of kin will get the job instead.

“I’m hesitant to confirm we will race at Le Mans before the final regulations have been confirmed, because our experiences in Formula 1 have taught us that in motorsport ideas that begin optimistically can ebb away, but we have a great deal of interest in the new regulations at Le Mans,” Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told Autocar. “But the underlying fact is that ‘son of Valkyrie’ will drop at exactly the right time, and if that means it would be able to go into the event and race LaFerraris, Porsche 918s and Sennas, then I cannot think of anything better.”

Like the Valkyrie, the new model will draw extensively on Aston’s collaboration with Red Bull Racing to target McLaren’s Ultimate Series – the top-of-the-line range that has included the P1, the new Senna, and the upcoming Speedtail. It’s probably still several years away, but we’re looking forward to seeing what Aston has in store – for both road and track.