Aston Martin has built an electrified and turbocharged V6
Tuesday, 24 March 2020
Aston Martin has confirmed it will put a turbocharged and electrified 3.0-litre V6 into the upcoming Valhalla supercar and has uploaded a video showing off its sound and ability to light up exhaust manifolds.
The new engine is apparently the first with an in-house design since 1968 and has the code name TM01, as a nod to former Aston engineer, Tadek Marek. He is notable for his work on three engines; the alloy straight six-cylinder engine of the Aston Martin DBR2 racing car in 1956, redesigning the company's venerable Lagonda straight six in 1957 and developing the Aston Martin V8 engine (1968).
No power or torque figures were made available but rumours aren't shy of the 1000hp number (745kW). The official word is that those specs will come with the Valhalla's debut in 2022.
Aston's new design is a 'hot V' layout which puts the turbochargers between the two banks of cylinders. The carmaker reckons the whole thing weighs less than 200kg and says that it, combined with the electrical gubbins, will become the 'most powerful in the Aston Martin range when on sale.'
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That sounds like AM is expecting its new powerplant to eclipse the 865kW 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12-powered Valkyrie, which was destined to race at Le Mans until the carmaker decided to focus on Formula 1 instead.
'Investing in your own powertrains is a tall order, but our team have risen to the challenge. Moving forward, this power unit will be integral to a lot of what we do and the first signs of what this engine will achieve are incredibly promising,' Aston Martin President and Group CEO Andy Palmer said about the TM01 engine.
Aston Martin will build 500 Valhallas, each starting at £875,000 (NZ$1.759m). The supercar will sit below the Valkyrie and have its design penned by Red Bull and Formula 1 engineer Adrian Newey.
Aside from the potent powerplant, the Valhalla will feature a new FlexFoil rear wing which can alter the amount of downforce produced without changing the angle of attack and not introducing more drag, turbulence or wind noise. Sounds like witchcraft to us but we're excited to see the final product.