• The previous record had been held by a Porsche 911 GT2 RS modified by Manthey Racing.
  • Aston Martin’s flagship hypercar was also quicker than a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 race car using slick tires.
  • Thanks to a complex underfloor, the Valkyrie produces 1,100 kg (2,425 lbs) of downforce.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie has smashed the Silverstone lap record for a street-legal production car, lapping the F1 circuit in 1:56.42.

Aston Martin has been building Valkyries for customers for the past three years and soon, the final example will roll out of its factory. Eager to finally show what the car is capable of, Aston Martin threw the keys to test driver and 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Darren Turner and let him loose on one of the world’s most famous racetracks.

Read: Aston Martin’s Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar Uncovered During Testing

With a lap time of 1:56.42, the Valkyrie easily eclipsed the previous record of 2:06.83 held by a Porsche 911 GT2 RS modified by Manthey Racing. The Valkyrie’s time is also almost 2 seconds quicker than the GT3 race car record around the track, set in 2019 at 1:58.165 with a Lamborghini Huracan GT3 on slick tires.

The record was set on standard Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires and while the track was dry, it had rained earlier in the day, slightly reducing grip. Nevertheless, the hypercar was able to pull more than 3.3g in the bends and down the main straight, topped out at 205 mph (330 km/h).

“The car performed brilliantly. I’m not sure I had anything more to give, but maybe on a day that was kinder with the conditions we could find a few more tenths if not more,” Turner said after the run. “It blows my mind that this is a road-legal car that you can use to drive to Silverstone and then go faster than the pole lap record in the British GT championship.”

It’s worth noting that when Aston Martin started development of the Valkyrie, it claimed it would be as fast as a Formula 1 car. However, the outright F1 record at Silverstone is 1:27.097 and was set back in 2020 by Max Verstappen. Admittedly, the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro would be faster than the road car, but no one can really claim that Aston Martin’s flagship hypercar is slow by any standard.