Aston Martin wants hyper-car to be faster than F1 cars

[humble sabot]

more fluff than in depth but hi-res with closeups of the dev setup:

[MadMatt]

LMP2 specs? Isn't that a bit underwhelming compared to what was announced?

[Holm86]

LMP2 specs? Isn't that a bit underwhelming compared to what was announced?

Im not sure what was officially announced, but its still damn inpressive from a roadcar, on road tires, and not even with the track pack

[MadMatt]

LMP2 specs? Isn't that a bit underwhelming compared to what was announced?

Im not sure what was officially announced, but its still damn inpressive from a roadcar, on road tires, and not even with the track pack

Well, check the first post of this topic:

"its limited edition model will have to be quicker than F1"

And the track version was not even announced at first, so let's not consider it here. But pretty sure they mentioned LMP1 also.

[Holm86]

LMP2 specs? Isn't that a bit underwhelming compared to what was announced?

Im not sure what was officially announced, but its still damn inpressive from a roadcar, on road tires, and not even with the track pack

Well, check the first post of this topic:

"its limited edition model will have to be quicker than F1"

And the track version was not even announced at first, so let's not consider it here. But pretty sure they mentioned LMP1 also.

It might be LMP1 level if you add slicks to it.
And why not just appreciate this impressive engineering exercise? Its still pretty damn impressive, both when it comes to aero, and when it comes to the engine.

[MadMatt]

Im not sure what was officially announced, but its still damn inpressive from a roadcar, on road tires, and not even with the track pack

Well, check the first post of this topic:

"its limited edition model will have to be quicker than F1"

And the track version was not even announced at first, so let's not consider it here. But pretty sure they mentioned LMP1 also.

It might be LMP1 level if you add slicks to it.
And why not just appreciate this impressive engineering exercise? Its still pretty damn impressive, both when it comes to aero, and when it comes to the engine.

Don't worry I appreciate it. I just don't like it when people hype something when experience shows that it will be hard/impossible to achieve. Who cares if it gets LMP1 speed or not. Things like this are just making them look stupid imo, despite the project being awesome. Again, I find the car amazing on a technical point of view.

[Andres125sx]

So basically the perfomance was limited by available tires, isn´t it?

Since they claim every single piece in the car is designed specifically for the Valkirie, they maybe should have start with some tire wich makes their claim plausible


Awesome car, engineering, project, people and idea. Love it all! (despite their fail to acomplish their own claims)

[63l8qrrfy6]

Of course it will have LMP2 performance since a good chunk of the car is designed by Multimatic.

I wonder how come the fact that their UK branch works on both the Valkyrie and Project one at the same time doesn't raise any eyebrows.

And since I rarely miss a chance to slag off Aston Martin what exactly is their contribution to the project? With Red Bull and Multimatic doing the bulk of the aero/chassis work and Cosworth providing the engine do AM bring anything other than money and a badge ?

[Just_a_fan]

do AM bring anything other than money and a badge ?

Don't underestimate the value of the badge/brand. Look at Ferrari, for years they made decidedly "m'eh" cars that sold solely on the name/badge.

[Maritimer]

AM are basically project management for the vehicle. RBR did the aero, Multimatic did the chassis and suspension, Cosworth the engine, I assume Xtrac are doing the transmission.

[Just_a_fan]

Not sure I see the problem. Red Bull don't make their own engine in F1. Are Red Bull therefore not to be respected? Ferrari bought in the management and driver for their early 2000s successes. So Ferrari are rubbish?

[63l8qrrfy6]

do AM bring anything other than money and a badge ?

Don't underestimate the value of the badge/brand. Look at Ferrari, for years they made decidedly "m'eh" cars that sold solely on the name/badge.

Hmm I'm trying to get my head around what they are trying to get out of it.

The way I see it the badge is not really that important any more when it comes to such cars. It is certainly something that can make a hatchback stand out among 10 other similar hatchbacks with virtally identical specs but is it really a thing when talking about multi milion cars?

Is AM's involvement more than just an attempt of boosting its brand image? There's no secret cars such as Valkyrie do not turn a profit and AM are (again) in dire straits.

The other thing I image a company could gain by setting out to design a hypercar is technical experience but this does not seem to be the case with AM only looking after trivial elements such as interior trim and door hinges (yes, really).

So what exactly is their motivation? There's no doubt the car is a fantastic piece of kit but I fail to see how it is going to help a struggling company..

I suppose same goes for their F1 incolvement - is that just money paid for a big ad on the rear wing? If that's a viable marketing gimmick why aren't other automotive companies doing it? Say Ford sponsoring Haas..

[Just_a_fan]

It's being sold as the Aston Martin Valkyrie. Not the Red Bull Valkyrie, not the Aston Martin Red Bull Valkyrie. Just Aston Martin Valkyrie.

The buyers won't care about the details of its development, nor will future buyers of AM cars. Halo vehicles aren't intended to turn a profit, they're intended to attract the small boy inside rich men so they get their cheque books out and buy the rest of the range.

[joshuagore]

In the USA, if asked, 9 out of 10 people would have no clue Red Bull is anything but a drinks company, a brand is required for the masses and for marketing outside Europe and Asia. Also why go through the effort of a halo car if there is no angel brand to uplift.

[Just_a_fan]

Exactly. Aston Martin is a world famous sports car maker that has been in existence for many years longer than Ferrari, for example. People know Aston Martin from Le Mans, from Bond films over the years, from beautiful and evocative sports cars in the 1950-60s such as the DB5, DB6 and the likes of the DB4 GT Zagato - as beautiful as the 250GTO to many eyes. (My personal favourite is probably the DRB1, see below). It's a well known brand and associating such an impressive piece of automotive design and engineering with it won't do any harm at all.

The Valkyrie is being used as the basis of the follow-up Valhalla. It seems reasonable to assume that AM are looking to develop mid-engined cars either in order to move away from the long-bonnet GT and sports cars they are known for now, or more likely to compliment them. For example, Ferrari has both front-engined sports/supersports GTs and mid-engined sportscars. They even have an estate car of sorts.

AM are also developing the DBX sports-SUV.

They are trying to broaden their appeal and for that they must surely be applauded. Even by those who dislike them.