Ride of the Valkyries

FOR years a creature of legend, the Valkyrie took one step closer to reality last week when Aston Martin revealed an almost production ready glimpse of its latest hypercar.

Designed by Formula One engineer Adrian Newey, the Valkyrie is expected to go into production late next year, with just 150 models in the pipeline.

Tipped as the fastest, most powerful non-F1 car in history, Aston Martin chief Andy Palmer says it will “lap Silverstone as fast as any F1 car”.

It has been described as “95 per cent” done by design director Miles Nurnberger. Projected price is at least €2.5 million for one of the limited edition beasts.

Tweaks will be made until it is perfect in the eyes of Red Bull man Newey. The headline news is that the extraordinary engine will provide 1,000hp, while the car itself will weigh just 1,000kg. That’s an astonishing 1-1 horsepower to weight ratio that will be coupled with some of the finest aerodynamic technology the world has ever seen.

Offering slightly more space that the deceptively compact Valkyrie seems to from a distance, it can cram two normal, even tall, humans into the front seats. They have their feet up just like an F1 car. In the same spirit all the controls are stuck on the steering wheel to maximise space.