1064-HP Aston Martin Valhalla Supercar Looks Sharp in Testing Photos
Aston Martin is testing its new on the road in the United Kingdom and on the track in Spain.
Production will begin in the second quarter of this year, with only 999 units set to be built.
The Valhalla's twin-turbo V-8 is paired with three electric motors, making a combined 1064 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque.
Aston Martin revealed the Valhalla supercar in what should be its final form last December, after two years of delays and a round of substantial changes compared with the original car presented in 2019. Now, Aston Martin is moving one step closer to production, which is supposed to kick off in the second quarter of this year, by showing off the Valhalla testing on the road in a new set of images.
The final validation sign-off seen in the photos took place on roads in Aston Martin's home, the United Kingdom, as well as on the IDIADA proving-ground track near Barcelona, Spain. The on-track pictures show the dramatic supercar in a pair of green liveries: one pairs a Podium Green body with a Lime Green stripe, while the other matches the shimmering Verdant Jade with Valkyrie Gold accents.
Along with Aston Martin engineers, the automaker employs a professional, three-time Le Mans class-winner Darren Turner, as a development driver. These final tests focused on steering, active aerodynamics, and thermal braking performance, utilizing the high-speed banking as well as the wet handling circuit. The Valhalla pictured on the road—seen in Satin Scintilla Silver with a thin Lime Green stripe—is receiving the final damper calibration.
The Valhalla represents a big step for Aston Martin. While the company already built 275 mid-engined Valkyrie hypercars, the Valhalla becomes the brand's first series production mid-engined machine (although still limited to 999 units), and its first plug-in-hybrid model. It also features a revised 4.0-liter V-8 engine that now uses a dry-sump design and is paired with a new eight-speed dual-clutch transmission.
The gearbox contains one electric motor, while the other two live on the front axle, taking total output to 1064 horsepower and 811 pound-feet of torque. With that much muscle on hand, the Valhalla is capable of a claimed 2.5-second sprint from zero to 62 mph and a top speed of 217 mph.
You Might Also Like
Car and Driver's 10 Best Cars through the Decades
How to Buy or Lease a New Car
Lightning Lap Legends: Chevrolet Camaro vs. Ford Mustang!
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
How Adrian Newey is 'provoking' Aston Martin
to help speed up the outfit's development. Newey sparked a warning that despite the team's state-of-the-art Silverstone HQ possessing the best equipment, there was a problem with the data correlating with the simulator. Advertisement Newey identified Aston's loop simulator as an area of weakness and said rectifying the issue was 'probably a two-year project in truth'. However, speaking on the James Allen on F1 podcast, Cowell said his design team had leapt on those comments with a view to proving the legendary designer wrong with his prediction. Cowell said: 'Everything that we're doing can improve and needs to improve. Adrian thinks the same. The great thing with Adrian is he knows the level that we need to get to. So he's setting high standards. I'm setting tough standards within the organisation. And then it's about how quickly can we get there. 'Is it going to take us two years to get there? No, it's not. Is Adrian provoking people? Yes, he is. As is Lawrence [Stroll] and Fernando [Alonso] and Lance [Stroll] and myself and many other people within the organisation. Advertisement 'We are all setting high standards to achieve. And the competitive advantage comes from how quickly you achieve it. 'So Adrian's provoking us. He's saying it's going to take everybody two years to achieve that. And everybody in the factory that I've spoken to that's working around the design team is going, 'well, we'll show him! We'll turn it into months rather than years'.' Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO at Aston Martin F1 Team with Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner of Aston Martin F1 Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO at Aston Martin F1 Team with Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner of Aston Martin F1 Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images Advertisement Cowell, the team's CEO and team principal, first worked with Newey back in 2004 when the latter was at McLaren; he was working for Mercedes at the time, and says the two have rekindled their working relationship and have open discussions about the improvements they can make. He added: 'I worked together with Adrian, but that's a long time ago now. The last two months we've been working together, and it's very enjoyable. Adrian isn't interested in people management, business organisation, or the way of stitching everything together so that we're all focused on the race car. 'Adrian is focused on the design of the race car, the architecture, and the detailed considerations. He's been in the industry a long time, as have I, and we know our strengths and our weaknesses. I think a strength that we've both got is that we can just talk openly to each other.' Cowell says that his ability to understand the complexities of the F1 hybrid engine – having led Mercedes' successful High Performance Powertrains division – will help him with the integration as Aston switches to Honda engines for 2026. Advertisement He said: 'It's five years ago that I was last poking my nose inside a Formula 1 engine, and so I completely respect that it's Honda's responsibility to create the power unit for '26 onwards for Aston Martin. 'I'm a big believer in everybody that's working on the racing car, whether it's a composite designer, whether it's for suspension, whether it's vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics – we all focus on what's best for the race car, and the best way of coming up with a common language is having a common currency, and that's lap time. 'That said, what I can also do is listen to what the Honda engineers are talking about, what they're battling with, and I can explain that to the people here. I can just take the pressure off this area a little bit. 'And likewise, I can do the same with Honda. I can say, 'look, the integration guys are asking for this because of this'. So hopefully, I can explain both worlds, but we can equate what we're doing from a performance perspective in the common currency of milliseconds.' More: Listen to the JA on F1 podcast at To read more articles visit our website.
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Yahoo
How Adrian Newey is 'provoking' Aston Martin
to help speed up the outfit's development. Newey sparked a warning that despite the team's state-of-the-art Silverstone HQ possessing the best equipment, there was a problem with the data correlating with the simulator. Advertisement Newey identified Aston's loop simulator as an area of weakness and said rectifying the issue was 'probably a two-year project in truth'. However, speaking on the James Allen on F1 podcast, Cowell said his design team had leapt on those comments with a view to proving the legendary designer wrong with his prediction. Cowell said: 'Everything that we're doing can improve and needs to improve. Adrian thinks the same. The great thing with Adrian is he knows the level that we need to get to. So he's setting high standards. I'm setting tough standards within the organisation. And then it's about how quickly can we get there. 'Is it going to take us two years to get there? No, it's not. Is Adrian provoking people? Yes, he is. As is Lawrence [Stroll] and Fernando [Alonso] and Lance [Stroll] and myself and many other people within the organisation. Advertisement 'We are all setting high standards to achieve. And the competitive advantage comes from how quickly you achieve it. 'So Adrian's provoking us. He's saying it's going to take everybody two years to achieve that. And everybody in the factory that I've spoken to that's working around the design team is going, 'well, we'll show him! We'll turn it into months rather than years'.' Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO at Aston Martin F1 Team with Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner of Aston Martin F1 Andy Cowell, Team Principal and Group CEO at Aston Martin F1 Team with Adrian Newey, Managing Technical Partner of Aston Martin F1 Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images Zak Mauger / Motorsport Images via Getty Images Advertisement Cowell, the team's CEO and team principal, first worked with Newey back in 2004 when the latter was at McLaren; he was working for Mercedes at the time, and says the two have rekindled their working relationship and have open discussions about the improvements they can make. He added: 'I worked together with Adrian, but that's a long time ago now. The last two months we've been working together, and it's very enjoyable. Adrian isn't interested in people management, business organisation, or the way of stitching everything together so that we're all focused on the race car. 'Adrian is focused on the design of the race car, the architecture, and the detailed considerations. He's been in the industry a long time, as have I, and we know our strengths and our weaknesses. I think a strength that we've both got is that we can just talk openly to each other.' Cowell says that his ability to understand the complexities of the F1 hybrid engine – having led Mercedes' successful High Performance Powertrains division – will help him with the integration as Aston switches to Honda engines for 2026. Advertisement He said: 'It's five years ago that I was last poking my nose inside a Formula 1 engine, and so I completely respect that it's Honda's responsibility to create the power unit for '26 onwards for Aston Martin. 'I'm a big believer in everybody that's working on the racing car, whether it's a composite designer, whether it's for suspension, whether it's vehicle dynamics, aerodynamics – we all focus on what's best for the race car, and the best way of coming up with a common language is having a common currency, and that's lap time. 'That said, what I can also do is listen to what the Honda engineers are talking about, what they're battling with, and I can explain that to the people here. I can just take the pressure off this area a little bit. 'And likewise, I can do the same with Honda. I can say, 'look, the integration guys are asking for this because of this'. So hopefully, I can explain both worlds, but we can equate what we're doing from a performance perspective in the common currency of milliseconds.' More: Listen to the JA on F1 podcast at To read more articles visit our website.
Forbes
2 days ago
- Forbes
Aston Martin 'Spy Car': Spy And Mistress Tour Europe Stealing War Plans
Now "Ulster bodied", this Aston Martin's wartime spy secrets can now be revealed. Tell me the plot, I say. "A British Army intelligence officer drives around Europe, just before World War 2, with his mistress, who's actually somebody else's wife and pretending she's Dutch, but really German," says retired construction company CEO Neil Pickstone. "They're masquerading as tourists in a 1935 Aston Martin, which has been fitted with secret compartments engineered by Aston and the Royal Automobile Club. "They befriend young, wealthy German army officers, steal German war plan documents, take photos of military installations, smuggling them back to Britain in those hidden compartments, and never get caught despite being stopped and the car being dismantled by the Gestapo." It sounds like a Netflix or Apple TV thriller. Except it's true, actually rather more extensive, and thoroughly documented, coming to light when two men from Cheshire, England, Pickstone and friend Simon Isles, bought the seen-better-days Aston in 2022. They'd been told the car was used to smuggle currency out of Nazi Germany, but became increasingly aware things didn't add up... Originally an Aston Martin Mark 2 Sports Saloon, the spy car chassis is retained under the "Ulster" ... More body. The car is now a faithful recreation of an "Ulster-bodied" 1930s Aston Martin race car. In the hands of British Army intelligence officer Robert William Fenton "Tony" Mellor it was a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2, but the original body way beyond repair. So Pickstone and Isles rebodied it, but retained its secrets. "Its original owner, Lieutenant, later Major, Mellor was born to a wealthy family. Come the threat of a second World War, back then there was no government budget for intelligence work. Much of it was self-funded by well-off military officers," said Pickstone. "Buying the Aston Martin in 1937, at 25, was a considered decision: in 1930s Germany, army officers were also from wealthy backgrounds. They enjoyed racing their cars, so when Mellor and mistress Ellen Magnee turned up in Germany in the the Aston, seemingly as rich tourists, German officers recognised it as a fast car and engaged in conversation; Mellor got to know them, taking opportunities to gather all sorts of intelligence". The only known image of Major Tony Mellor and his Aston Martin "spy car" comes out of storage. In parallel with deceiving German military officers, Mellor was developing close ties to the French Resistance. The Aston Martin became key to some of their missions, so appearances, especially during night-time car-bound exploits, were crucial. Fenton fitted Bosch headlights to replicate the look of a German staff car at night. He also stole a German military vehicle "exhaust whistle", diverted exhaust gasses sounding their imminent arrival at checkpoints, barriers lifted in advance, Mellor and his French Resistance passengers hurtling through at 80mph leaving guards little chance of spotting the night-time ruse. Such antics were just part of the documented story, archived in files that came with the Aston and in Mellor's Cheshire Regiment museum. "The car came with a story about helping Jewish people pre-war, smuggling silver and currency out of Germany," said Pickstone. "It came with the secret compartments, the altered exhaust, and all the bits and pieces that made it special. "But the story about smuggling currency was fabricated. This was a spy story." Pickstone and Isles knitted together Mellor's memoires, the car's history file and archived accounts of then-fellow officers to piece together an extraordinary tale. It also raised the question of why, when a senior officer spoke about recommending Major Mellor for the Victoria Cross (the highest military bravery honour) there was a resounding silence from then military chiefs. However, Mellor was awarded the Croix de Guerre with Vermilion Star for his contribution to the French war effort. One of the secret compartments, the large tube, in situ. The Gestapo missed its hidden secrets even ... More after dismantling the Aston. In the car's file is a letter from Aston Martin to Mellor. It notes his attendance at the Aston Martin factory where he was instructed in repair and maintenance of the car on his European "tours". "The letter to Mellor is for, whatever purpose, from Aston Martin to confirm he spent time working in the factory on his car. We believe it's to document what he'd allegedly been doing for six weeks while out of barracks. We believe he was actually designing secret compartments," said Pickstone. "The first modification was a cross tube on the chassis. It had a locking mechanism that couldn't be spotted unless you knew what you were looking for," said Isles. Meanwhile, the Royal Automobile Club provided a battery. It worked normally, but also had a hidden compartment. "Just pre-war he was travelling around Europe with Ellen Magnee and got stopped by the Gestapo. They stripped the car, but found nothing," says Pickstone."In the archives there's evidence he said it was a good job because he had the plans for the Siegfried Line hidden in the secret compartments." The restored German Army officer staff car exhaust whistle. Mellor Captures 500 German Soldiers On His Day Off While he left the Aston in Holland for much of the war, his antics continued. He was one of the first British soldiers onto Sicily in 1943 where he is believed to have had a brief dalliance with a local countess. But he was also part of the spearhead during 1944's Normandy landings. "Soon after he was granted 24 hours leave to see 'friends' in a nearby village. He took a wireless man, a jeep and a driver. We believe he was meeting a previous girlfriend, and to gather intel about what the Germans were doing," said Pickstone. "En route they came across the Eighth Army, parked up approaching a bridge where there was a report of a German Tiger tank which had destroyed several Allied tanks. The commander of the Sherman tank at the head of the column refused to go any further. "Mellor and a French freedom fighter went to have a look, but the 'Tiger' was just a tracked vehicle. They captured it, just as a German staff car appeared; the Sherman opens fire, the staff car crashes, and the occupants captured too. "More freedom fighters appeared and proceeded to capture 200 Germans in the woods, locked them in a barn while they went to help defend a nearby town, but ended up capturing 300 more German soldiers. 'They were terrified of the French, so wanted to surrender to a British officer. Mellor ended up capturing 500 Germans on his day off...' The question remains: was Major Mellor the inspiration for James Bond? While it's mainly Cheshire lanes that pass under the Aston's wheels these days, you wonder what other tales of derring-do war-time archives, due to be opened under the UK Government's "100 year rule" in the 2030s, could reveal. Major Mellor retired to an Oxfordshire village, but evidence remained of his past. Upon his passing, his cottage was sold, the new owners discovering a secret compartment in the basement, evidently designed to store the tools of a spy's trade. Asking Pickstone and Isles if they thought Mellor, a neighbour of 007 creator Ian Fleming, a fellow intelligence officer, was the basis for James Bond they simply said I should draw my own conclusions. I'll simply let you draw yours...
