Aston Martin reveals production Valhalla with 700kW hybrid V8

Friday, 16 July 2021

The Aston Martin Valhalla has been revealed with a bespoke new hybrid V8.

Aston Martin has taken the wraps off the production version of the Valhalla supercar, and it’s a bit different to what we expected.

Gone is the Aston-developed 3.0-litre twin-turbocharged V6 and in its place is a “bespoke” version of Mercedes-AMG’s longstanding 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 (though Aston won’t admit its origins). It’s bespoke because it’s electrified to the tune of producing 700kW of power and 1000Nm of torque.

It’s probably based around the engine found in the AMG GT Black Series, as both use a flat-plane crankshaft and rev out to 7200rpm. It should sound absolutely epic, thanks to a lightweight exhaust with active valves and top-exit tailpipes.

The Valhalla might not look all that different to the concepts and pre-production models we’ve seen before, but there’s a lot happening beneath that sheet metal.

It says a lot about new boss Tobias Moers’ influence, considering he only took control of Aston Martin a year or two ago and, at that point, the company was set on building its on V6 for the Valhalla. It’d be interesting to see how much re-engineering it took to fit the electrified V8 into the Valhalla.

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Lots of aerodynamic trickery means the Valhalla generates plenty of downforce. It should be quite the menace around a track.

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The final piece of the puzzle is price, although you can reasonably assume it won’t be cheap.

Mounted in the middle of the car (a first for Aston) the engine sends its power rearward through an eight-speed dual-clutch automatic transmission that was apparently “exclusively designed and built for Aston Martin.”

Interestingly, the transmission doesn’t have a reverse gear. Instead, it uses the electric motors, which helps save overall weight by ditching the extra cog. The car weighs 1550kg without fluids.

The powertrain can also run the electric motors and V8 engine in different gears at the same time, which is pretty awesome and, as far as we know, the first time such a thing has been done on a production car.

There are a pair of electric motors, one on each axle for all-wheel drive. The electricals produce 157kW by themselves and combine with the V8 to send the Valhalla to 100kmh in 2.5 seconds before topping out at 330kmh.

The car is a plug-in hybrid too, which means it can run on electric power only for distances up to 15km. The size of the battery pack isn’t mentioned but assume it to be small. Aston Martin says CO2 emissions are predicted to be less than 200g/km on the WLTP test cycle.

Aston is clearly a bit chuffed with its latest creation, as it reckons it can lap the Nurburgring in a scant six minutes and 30 seconds, 13 seconds faster than what the AMG GT Black Series can do.

Helping achieve the goal is a new Formula 1-inspired carbon fibre chassis, which includes pushrod front suspension complete with inboard mounted springs and dampers reducing unsprung mass. Together with the rear-end’s multilink design, the Valhalla uses Multimatic Variable Spring rate and Adaptive Spool Valve (ASV) Damper units providing adjustable ride frequency for improved performance on road and track.

High-performance carbon ceramic brakes with brake-by-wire technology bring everything to a stop, as do specially developed Michelin tyres (20-inch fronts and 21-inch rears).

Aerodynamic wizardry is strong too, with the shape of the car combining with active surfaces and venturi tunnels to generate 600kg of downforce at 240kmh.

There’s no word on how much the Valhalla will cost, or when it may actually be bought. Here’s hoping New Zealand gets a couple.