Why The Aston Martin Valkyrie’s V12 Engine Is An Engineering Marvel
Aston Martin’s incredible Valkyrie has an even more remarkable engine in it, that of a 1,000 hp Cosworth developed V12.
The Aston Martin Valkyrie is surely one of the most impressive hypercars of recent times. A car that really seems to rewrite what is possible performance wise. Forget the Mercedes-AMG One. This is where the real magic is. The Valkyrie was of course designed with input from Red Bull Racing and Adrian Newey, and it was all about making a road car as fast as an F1 car around a racetrack. It took a long time to get on the road, but the finished product is exemplary.
What helps to make the car so special, is that it does not have hybrid power. Whereas its main rival from Mercedes has that, the Valkyrie harks back to the supercars of old. It has a colossal, Cosworth developed V12 engine. Yes, you heard that right. A V12 engine. Not only does it produce plenty of power, but it makes an incredible sound as well. Little wonder the Valkyrie seems to have gripped people more than the AMG-ONE. The car itself is an engineering marvel. But the engine is something else entirely, reminding us all as to why we love supercars.
The Stats That Make The Engine So Impressive
Cosworth is, as you might expect, quite proud of this engine. For the Aston Martin Valkyrie, Cosworth has developed a 6.5-liter V12 engine. And it produces a staggering 1,000 hp. What makes this power unit so impressive is that the engine creates all this power on its own. There is no fancy hybrid trickery going on. Unlike the AMG-ONE, the Valkyrie is totally naturally aspirated. It really does feel like a throwback supercar. That peak power output of 1,000 hp is at 10,500 rpm which then continues on to a further 11,100 rpm.
The numbers behind this engine are just mind-blowing. It’s way beyond any engine seen in a road car at the moment. What makes the engine even more remarkable is that it is a fully-stressed element of the chassis. Yet despite it being that, this engine weighs in at just 206 kg. That is not a heavy engine at all. The stats for this engine just keep getting more and more impressive. There is a little bit of hybrid power here. Courtesy of a 160 hp electric motor. But the fact the V12 produces 1,000 hp is something to behold.
Defying The Physics Of The Supercar World
Something else that helps make this engine so special is the soundtrack it has. To many, the soundtrack of a supercar is what makes it a supercar. And we are very pleased to report that the Valkyrie has the best soundtrack of any supercar on the road right now. It somehow sounds even more spectacular when it comes to the AMR Pro version of the car. The Valkyrie is unlike many supercars now, in that it actually screams to us as it roars into life.
Some of the best footage of this car came at the 2021 and 2022 Goodwood Festivals of Speed. Drivers such as Darren Turner really went for it, to showcase what the car could do. Aston Martin also took the car to Bahrain in its AMR Pro form, to demonstrate at the 2022 Bahrain Grand Prix. That was when we really heard the V12 soundtrack of the car at the peak of its audio level. Onlookers have described the Valkyrie as sounding just like a classic Formula 1 car. The last V12 Formula 1 car was way back in the 1990s. There is something that is now otherworldly about such a sound.
The Most Special Of All Supercar Engines
For an engine that will get punished, Cosworth had to make sure it was durable. Cosworth would stick to known materials within the engine. Conventional steel and aluminum alloys formed a lot of its construction. The fact the engine is the only link to join the front and back of the car together helps to make it even more incredible. The engine is the perfect combination of everything Cosworth has learned in the past. Plus, all the know-how needed to create a supercar for the 2020s.
The Most Incredible Supercar Of The Decade So Far
There is every reason to say that the Valkyrie is the most incredible supercar of this decade so far. Aston Martin really did push the boundaries of what was possible, thanks to the input of its partners. It’s little wonder that it gave Red Bull the appetite to produce their own in-house supercar, the RB17. Very few of us will sadly get to experience the Valkyrie. Even fewer of us will actually get to drive in the car, let alone actually own one. But we should admire the brilliance of it, the sheer, raw power of the Valkyrie and everything that it stands for.
Source: Aston Martin
