Adrian Newey To Help Make Aston Martin Valkyrie A Le Mans Winner

Aston Martin has confirmed that F1 chief designer extraordinaire Adrian Newey, who currently heads Red Bull Racing, will play a major role in the development of the Valkyrie racing car.

“He’s [Newey] the original architect of the Valkyrie and the standard he set for the road car was always that it would be quicker than an LMP1, so naturally he’s involved,” Aston Martin boss Andy Palmer recently told Car Sales.

While discussing the process of making the Valkyrie comply with the new World Endurance Championship hypercar regulations, Palmer indicated that the it is actually more of a de-tuned version of the street car than a step up.

Also Read: Aston Martin Valkyrie To Race At Le Mans In New Hypercar Class

“The Valkyrie race car is a development of the road car – it’s actually more of a de-tune really, there’s less power, less speed. Because the base car is capable of a lot more.”

The road-going Aston Martin Valkyrie will use a naturally-aspirated 6.5-liter V12 from Cosworth paired to a battery electric system from Rimac for a combined output of 1,160 HP.

Cars competing in the new hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship will be capped at 750 HP, achieved through either a hybrid powertrain or a non-hybrid powertrain. It remains to be seen if the Valkyrie racer will use the electric motor system of the road car, but we do have confirmation the 6.5-liter V12 will power the vehicle, albeit at a massively de-tuned state.

Palmer to detail how involved its Formula 1 partner, Red Bull Racing, will be in the Valkyrie racing program, though Newey’s participation is telling anyway…