Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Intends To Shame All Other Hypercars

Aston Martin has admitted that there’s room to make the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro even more ridiculous than what it has originally had us believe.

Official word from the British automaker is that the hypercar will deliver over 1000 kg (2200 lbs) of downforce and weigh just 1000 kg. Speaking to Autocar, Red Bull Racing’s Adrian Newey said this downforce figure may improve.

“The downforce we are quoting is obviously early days. The model you see now is effectively the ideas that stand behind the project given over to Marek’s [design] team to interpret.

“It will, of course, change quite a lot from that,” Newey commented.

Previous reports have indicated the car could produce as much as 1814 kg (4000 lbs) of downforce.

Whatever figures the Valkyrie AMR Pro arrives with, we know it will utilize a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 paired to an electric motor. This will result in a total of 1100 hp and could be enough for the car to mount a challenge to Porsche’s outright Nurburgring lap record with the unrestricted Porsche 919 Evo Hybrid.

Interestingly, the Valkyrie wasn’t always supposed to get a V12; according to Newey, a V6 aided by forced induction was considered.

“I spent a lot of time looking at different power units. The obvious choices were a V6 – either single or twin-turbo – or a high-revving, naturally aspirated V12.

“In the end, I came to the conclusion that it should be the V12 because of what that allowed us to do in terms of structural mounting, because it’s a very well-balanced engine with good NVH characteristics.

“With a turbo, you need intercoolers; by the time you’ve put those on, the weight is fairly similar. Technically, the V12 was marginally superior, but it was a close call.”

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro will launch in 2020, shortly after the first road-legal variants are delivered to customers in 2019.