Monday 6th March 2017

Aston Martin AM-RB 001 becomes 'Valkyrie'

It's got a proper 'V' name now and everything - that means they must be building it, right?

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If you're going to build what's billed as the world's fastest car it helps if it's got a properly scary name, right? OK, AM-RB 001 is all very techie. But by choosing the name Valkyrie for its Red Bull supported and Adrian Newey designed hypercar Aston Martin is both following in the tradition of its 'V' naming strategy and evoking some badass characters from Norse mythology. In this case the female gods deciding who lives and who dies in battle.

It's getting closer...

By now you're probably also humming Wagner's Ride Of The Valkyries, famously used to soundtrack the helicopter gunship attack scene from Apocalypse Now and chosen by Robert Duvall's Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore for its... intimidation value.

"While its name is rooted in ancient mythology, the Aston Martin Valkyrie is a pure expression of modern technology. By bringing together Aston Martin, Red Bull Advanced Technologies, project partner AF Racing and some of the world's leading technology partners, the Aston Martin Valkyrie promises otherworldly performance befitting of its name," says the press release.

"Aston Martin model names have deep meaning," confirms the firm's Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman. "They need to inspire and excite. To tell a story and enrich a narrative that stretches back some 104 years. The Aston Martin Valkyrie is an incredibly special car that demands an equally remarkable name; an uncompromising car that leaves nothing in reserve. The connotations of power and honour, of being chosen by the Gods are so evocative, and so pertinent to a car that only a fortunate few will ever experience."

As confirmed in our story about the project's technical partners, the Valkyrie will have a 'one to one' power to weight ratio of one hp per kg based around a Cosworth-built, 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12. We'll be expecting some sort of electrical assistance to that and a total power output involving a four-figure number to deliver on Newey's promises of LMP1 car performance from the 25 track only versions to be built. These will be joined by 100-odd road cars, some customers reportedly ordering one of each to cover all bases. Starting price is £3m, deliveries start in 2019 and there's every chance you're already too late if you want one.

Aston Martin Valkyrie video

[simonrockman]

The V is linked to the Valiant/Vulcan/Victor V-Bombers which where built on the same site as the Aston Martin factory

[VladD]

Car looks great, let's hope it delivers on the hype.

An interesting tie up with Red Bull etc. I wonder if this is a one off or if there will be future products?

Edited by VladD on Monday 6th March 17:59

[Cold]

simonrockman said:

The V is linked to the Valiant/Vulcan/Victor V-Bombers which where built on the same site as the Aston Martin factory

It's claimed to be from Norse mythology.

Andy Palmer said:

ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE: AM-RB 001 HYPERCAR TAKES ITS NAME FROM THE GODS

(His caps lock)

[Flugplatz]

[Plug Life]

Should have been Aston Martin Vendetta

[rtz62]

It has a name, so it has to be built, right?
Perhaps a Mr D Trump should be shown the article, so that he may give naming rights to the construction he professes will be built between the US of A, and Mexico.
The only difference between that wall and the Valkyrie is that we KNOW who will pay for the Aston, whilst Mr Trump BELIEVES he knows who will pay for his wall....
Back on subject, a lovely looking thing, sadly beyond the means of nearly every reader of PH, and also, thankfully of Premiership footballers at a guess (wrong sort of image having 'Ibrah the elbow' and his ilk fluffing around in one I'd venture to suggest...).

[Macboy]

simonrockman said:

The V is linked to the Valiant/Vulcan/Victor V-Bombers which where built on the same site as the Aston Martin factory

Not really...the V-nomenclature started with the more widespread use of the Vantage as a secondary nameplate from 1977 (V8 Vantage) followed by the Virage, and then the Volante and Vantage names being used as model names rather than derivatives thereafter. Vanquish replaced the Vantage as the range topper in 2001. The V8 Vantage became the new base model and the Virage nameplate was resurrected (briefly) on DB9. Then came the limited production Vulcan and now the Valkyrie all following the core V-car naming that now goes back 30 years. You can make the link to the V-bombers and Gaydon (based there not built there) but I wouldn't say it's "the link"- it's what they've been doing for years!

[SamH216]

Great name - shares the name with the XB70 Valkyrie, which is one of my favourites. That one did Mach 3.

[Cold]

[Venturist]

I've got goosebumps.

[andrewcliffe]

The Vantage moniker for higher performance engines was first used in 1952 with the DB2 and the Volante name in 1965.

The link with Gaydon's V bombers is a convenient coincidence, but the use of V-designations predates this by decades.

Edited by andrewcliffe on Monday 6th March 21:34

[rtz62]

SamH216 said:

Great name - shares the name with the XB70 Valkyrie, which is one of my favourites. That one did Mach 3.

HAD pics of this when I was a very young boy in the 60's.
To be fair, I'm sure it only did Mach 3 once, had a fatal accent and was an abject failure in terms of costs and abilities, hence it was scrapped. Let's hope the Aston fairs better!!!!

[Fabric]

rtz62 said:

I'm sure it only did Mach 3 once,!

They actually went above mach 3 five times in total, surprisingly. Epic machines though, gutted I'll never see one fly.

[leglessAlex]

Looks brilliant right now, but surely the finished product will look quite different? I don't see how they'll have the space for everything needed to make it a functional road car.

[anonymous-user]

leglessAlex said:

Looks brilliant right now, but surely the finished product will look quite different? I don't see how they'll have the space for everything needed to make it a functional road car.

Looking at the current package envelope, i think it's safe to say that the road version is going to be horribly compromised, in terms of cabin space and access, and almost certainly in terms of things like range due to having a tiny fuel tank etc.

[arkenphel]

I wonder how long it'll be before they run out of V words and name something the Aston Martin Vag..a.

I'm pretty sure I'll be dead by then though...

[Amanitin]

rtz62 said:

was an abject failure in terms of costs and abilities, hence it was scrapped.

no it wasn't. There were obviously serious problems as with any development on the bleeding edge, but it was judged to become obsolete very rapidly due to advances in radar and missile technology (SAMs and ICBMs).

[Sixpackpert]

simonrockman said:

The V is linked to the Valiant/Vulcan/Victor V-Bombers which where built on the same site as the Aston Martin factory

No they weren't.

Valiants and Victors were stationed there, not built there. The Vulcan was never stationed (or built) there.

[rtz62]

Amanitin said:

rtz62 said:

was an abject failure in terms of costs and abilities, hence it was scrapped.

no it wasn't. There were obviously serious problems as with any development on the bleeding edge, but it was judged to become obsolete very rapidly due to advances in radar and missile technology (SAMs and ICBMs).

So that's not an abject failure then? It was a raging success, of course.
Was the aircraft, being an inanimate object, to blame, or was it the designers, or the government department responsible for setting the parameters for the design whilst being sufficiently short-sighted as to not act on intelligence concerning Soviet missile technology...?
The Aston and it's like are continually called 'the last hurrah' of large-capacity n/a engines, but we (thankfully) still see manufacturers continuing to build them, which can only be a 'good thing' for genuine PH'ers (this is the point where I usually turn my ire to why governments fail to tackle mega-polluters like Russia, India and China, yet punish us....)
Sadly, by the very nature of what this car is, the likes of you and I are never likely to ever see it except in Chris Harris or TG videos, which is a crying shame, as there is nothing like the sound of a n/a large capacity engine threatening to rip apart the very fabric of time and space.

[skidskid]

Max_Torque said:

Looking at the current package envelope, i think it's safe to say that the road version is going to be horribly compromised, in terms of cabin space and access, and almost certainly in terms of things like range due to having a tiny fuel tank etc.

You're not wrong. Have a look at this video of it next to a F12 Tdf, the thing is tiny!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Lr5JcuL7oc

I've said this before somewhere else on here but if successful the genius of this car will be the packaging.