Aston Martin’s Mid-Engine Ferrari Rival Will Look Closer To Valkyrie, Says CEO

Development of Aston Martin’s much anticipated Ferrari 488 rival is well underway but we still don’t know much about it. That is until now, as the company’s CEO Andy Palmer shared some initial information on their 2020 supercar.

Speaking to Top Gear, Palmer said that the new Aston Martin will look like a mini Valkyrie, instead of borrowing design elements from models like the new Vantage.

“It looks closer to Valkyrie,” he said. “The fact I can say ‘it looks’ means I have a pretty good idea of what it’s going to look like – there’s a full-size model in the studio already.”

“How could I describe it? You’ll instantly recognize it as an Aston,” Palmer continued. “In an Aston today, the A-pillar always intersects the front wheel, where in a mid-engined car everything moves forward.

“So you’ve got some challenges to get those classical proportions. And we’re not there fully. But the styling direction owes more to Valkyrie than it does to Vantage,” he added.

The new Aston Martin is scheduled for a launch in 2020 with a yet unknown powertrain, although Palmer did mention that it will be ‘very competitive’. He also said that while Aston Martin remains committed to the V12, they also have AMG’s twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 on hand to use where appropriate.

Palmer said last year that the upcoming mid-engined supercar will not use a full carbon tub, because “it’s not the optimum solution” for what they have in mind. He added that the team needs to have ‘an obsession with weight and aerodynamics’ for a car like this. Palmer is currently moving 130 engineers to the Red Bull campus in order to develop the new mid-engined supercar alongside the people working on the Valkyrie.

Aston Martin Valkyrie pictured