New Aston Martin Valkyrie V12 to put the scream back into engines

NEW ‘hypercar’ promises extreme performance — and an exhaust note that harks back to old-school F1.

Aston Martin Valkyrie.

THE engine for the new Aston Martin Valkyrie is set to be a screaming engineering marvel.

The F1-inspired 6.5-litre V12 will be one of the most powerful engines on the market.

It produces 746kW and 740Nm and the crescendo of revs tops 11,100rpm — or about double the redline of the average car and far superior to any non-turbo car engine that meets modern emissions standards.

Aston Martin’s chief Andy Palmer believes this is the ultimate experience for any petrolhead.

“To anyone with a drop of petrol in their blood, a high-revving naturally aspirated V12 is the absolute pinnacle,” says Palmer.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie will sound like an old-school F1 racer.

“Nothing sounds better or encapsulates the emotion and excitement of the internal combustion engine more completely.”

The engine is supposed to hearken back to the screaming, high-revving Formula One engines of the ’90s. And thanks to Aston Martin’s partnership with renowned engine builder Cosworth, the Valkyrie’s engine draws on the best F1 tech available.

Replicating race construction methods and materials, Aston Martin and Cosworth machined internal engine parts to reduce weight and increase strength. The massive V12 weighs just 206kg.

In the Valkyrie, unlike any other car on the road, the engine is effectively part of the structure — without the V12 there would be nothing to join the front and rear assemblies.

“Despite the apparently insurmountable challenges it presented, there was never any question that the Aston Martin Valkyrie would make do with anything less,” says Palmer.

“From the outset the team at Cosworth were unflinching in their commitment to achieving benchmarks which pushed the boundaries of the possible.

“The result is a quite extraordinary engine. One which I doubt will ever be surpassed.”

The Aston Martin Valkyrie engine uses F1 construction methods to reduce weight.

Cosworth boss Bruce Wood says: “Decades in F1 taught us to expect pretty demanding specifications. But when we started talking about specifics of power, weight, emissions compliance and durability combined with ever harder and sometimes conflicting targets, we knew this would be a challenge like no other.”

For all its outputs, the Valkyrie’s engine won’t be operating alone. Aston Martin will couple the petrol engine with an electric motor to boost power.