Aston Martin has confirmed its long-awaited Valkyrie hypercar will race at Le Mans, following entry into the 2020/2021 World Endurance Championship season. This, as the new top-level hypercar regulations are ratified by the Automobile Club de l’Ouest – the organisation behind the 24-hour race.
The cars won’t quite resemble those customers will drive, or indeed the track-only AMR Pro version. The V12 engine will be prepared for the rigours of 24-hour racing, while Aston describes the car as a ‘fully competitive platform capable of challenging for outright race wins’. A ‘minimum’ of two will be entered when they take to the La Sarthe circuit next year.
If it wins, it’ll be the first ‘road car’ to come first at Le Mans since the McLaren F1 in 1995.
The roadgoing Valkyrie is set to produce over 1,000hp at up to 10,800rpm from a 6.5-liter V12 engine in combination with a hybrid system. A test-ready prototype was shown at the Geneva Motor Show in March, following extensive work by Cosworth.
“We have always said that we would one day bring Aston Martin back to Le Mans with the intention of going for the outright win when the time was right – now is that time,” said Aston Martin CEO, Andy Palmer.
“David Brown came here in 1959, with a car and a team of drivers capable of winning. We intend to do the same in 2021. The Aston Martin Valkyrie is primed for such a challenge and sits perfectly within the ACO’s new ‘hypercar’ rule framework.
“What could be more evocative than the wail of an Aston Martin V12 leading the charge into the night on the Mulsanne straight?”
We have to say, we’re struggling to come up with an answer to that.