The latest information drop for the upcoming Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar has arrived. After nearly a year of teasing that started with the announcement of a code name, we finally get a look inside Gaydon’s radical creation, as well as an updated look at its exterior.
Compared to the renderings released last year when Aston Martin announced the project, which is a joint effort with Red Bull Advanced Technologies, an engineering venture born from the company’s Formula 1 efforts, the new images of the Valkyrie reveal not just updated aero that includes solid wheels instead of spoked ones, but also its roof-hinged doors. And, according to the automaker, there may be further changes still.
“I would say we’re around 95 per cent of the way there with the exterior design,” said Miles Nurnberger, Aston Martin Creative Director of Exterior Design. “Much of what you see is actually the structure of the car, so this had to be signed-off relatively early in the project. The remaining areas of non-structural bodywork are still subject to evolution and change as Adrian [Newey] continues to explore way of finding more downforce. The new outlets in the body are a case in point.”
If the exterior looks minimalistic aside from the aero, the interior is decidedly bare bones. Ingress and egress is through what appears to be a narrow opening in the carbon fiber tub and is unlikely to make any would-be occupant look dignified in the process. Fortunately, the Valkyrie’s steering wheel is removable, making entry and exit at least somewhat easier for the driver.
Once inside, occupants get strapped into a reclined position in the tub-mounted seat with a four- or six-point harness. The steering wheel holds all relevant controls and contains the OLED display that takes the place of the gauge cluster, while two displays on either side of the car driven by rear-facing cameras take the place of rear-view mirrors (removing the mirrors also helped aerodynamics). There’s a fourth screen in the center, but Aston did not specify its exact function.
Aston Martin claims that there’s enough space in the Valkyrie’s cockpit for normal-size humans. “It’s been fantastic seeing customers try the interior buck for size,” said Matt Hill, Aston Martin Creative Director of Interiors. “They love the ritual of getting in and how it feels to be sat behind the wheel. They’re also genuinely surprised at how the car just seems to swallow them. You really do have to sit in it to believe there is genuine space for two large adults.”
We’ll have to wait until we get our chance to get into the Valkyrie for ourselves. That should happen sometime next year, as the production announcement can’t be far off and deliveries are expected to begin sometime in 2019. Power is expected to come from a 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12 mated to a yet-unspecified hybrid system and weight is expected to be somewhere between 2,200 and 2,400 pounds. As for the price, file it safely under “if you have to ask…,” though rumors suggest a sticker north of $3,000,000.
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