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Aston Martin Returns To Le Mans With Valkyrie Hypercar

BY Sean Loo

A racing prototype version of the Aston Martin Valkyrie will take on the challenge it was born for.

Aston Martin is gearing up to storm the racetracks like never before. And they're not doing it solo; they've got some serious racing muscle backing them up.

You see, there's something inherently exciting about the marriage of high-speed endurance racing and an iconic brand like Aston Martin. It's like pairing fine wine with exquisite cheese, a match made in motoring heaven.

Enter the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the crown jewel of hypercars. This beast isn't bound by any of those pesky sporting regulations that hold others back. It's a powerhouse of automotive engineering, unleashed to conquer the racetracks of the world. But it's not hitting the circuit alone; it's got some serious racing partners in crime, thanks to the folks at Heart of Racing [HoR], Aston Martin's championship-winning endurance racing partner.

Come 2025, Aston Martin is unleashing at least one Valkyrie racecar onto the tracks of the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championships [IMSA]. The Valkyrie prototype is about to strut its stuff at three of the most prestigious events in the world of sports car racing – Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Performance is in Aston Martin's DNA, and they're not about to skimp on it. Just like their latest production siblings, the DB12 and the DBX707, which have been breaking records for their performance and driving dynamics, the Valkyrie is here to set new standards.

Lawrence Stroll, Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, couldn't have put it better: "Performance is the lifeblood of everything that we do at Aston Martin, and motorsport is the ultimate expression of this pursuit of excellence."

And Aston Martin has history here, folks. They've been making waves at Le Mans since almost the dawn of time (well, since the race's earliest days in 1923, to be exact). They've notched up 19 class victories at this prestigious event, not to mention an overall triumph in the 1959 race with the legendary DBR1, driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby.

To put it simply, Le Mans and Aston Martin have a love affair that spans nearly a century. The roar of their engines and the flash of their iconic wings have etched themselves into racing history. Now, as Aston Martin celebrates its 110th anniversary, they're gearing up for a comeback.

So, what's the deal with the Valkyrie? Well, it was originally designed to meet LMH hypercar regulations, and now the brainiacs at Aston Martin Performance Technologies are putting their heads together to transform it into a competition-ready prototype. This beast will race within the predefined boundaries of aerodynamics and power performance that put it on par with its rivals in WEC. And after this transformation, it'll be homologated for the WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP classes in time for the 2025 season.

Under the hood, the Valkyrie racecar will boast a modified version of the mind-blowing Cosworth-built 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine. In its standard form, this beauty revs all the way to 11,000 rpm and delivers over 1000 bhp. But, of course, they're enhancing it even further to meet those Hypercar class Balance of Performance requirements. This baby is getting a tune-up to handle the rigours of top-level long-distance competition.

However, one thing you won't find in the race car is the battery-electric hybrid system that graces the road-spec Valkyrie. This is all about raw, unadulterated speed.

So, folks, get ready for a show. Aston Martin is back on the track, and they're not here to play; they're here to win.