The next ‘hypercar’ to come out of Britain following the McLaren P1 will be called the Valkyrie, with the final car being the product of a project jointly undertaken by Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing to combine 21st century Formula 1 technology with cutting edge design and manufacturing to produce the ultimate road car.
Somewhat lost in that partnership is the involvement of Cosworth, another British name with an equally rich history in motorsport, most notably responsible for being the engine supplier of multiple Formula 1 teams over the last half century. That expertise is rare, precious, and exactly the reason why the Valkyrie’s project required their help to engineer a demigod of internal combustion.
Every engine component seems to have been milled from either a solid block of metal and is primarily composed of titanium using ultra-fine machining processes, with some taking as much as 6 months to fully complete. The ratio to displacement and overall engine weight is almost an exact match to the Cosworth 3.0-litre V10 Formula 1 motor.
The 6.5-litre V12 that will be powering the final version of the Valkyrie will be the most powerful naturally aspirated motor to ever be slotted into a road legal car, demoting the Aston Martin One-77’s V12 to second place (also using a Cosworth engine). It uses numerous Formula 1 derived innovations to achieve that distinction, producing 1,000hp (745kW) at a stratospheric 10,500rpm (redline is at 11,000rpm) while torque peaks 740Nm at 7,000rpm.
Bear in mind that all this is achieved with commercial-grade petrol, without the aid of any method of forced induction, and conforms to all current regulation on CO2 emissions, pollutant levels, noise, and fuel consumption.
Bruce Wood, Cosworth Managing Director, said of the project: “Being asked to create a naturally aspirated V12 engine fit for what will surely be one of the most iconic cars of all time is an immense source of pride for Cosworth.”
“Decades in F1TM taught us to expect a pretty demanding specification from someone with Adrian Newey’s unsurpassed track record, but when we started talking about specifics of power, weight, emissions compliance and durability combined with ever harder and sometimes conflicting targets, we knew this would be a challenge like no other.”
“It’s been a fantastic partnership between Aston Martin, Red Bull and Cosworth with each party bringing a distinct clarity of vision that has proved essential in delivering an internal combustion engine way beyond anything previously seen in a road car application.”
Once the engine is paired to the Valkyrie’s hybrid-assist system, total system output will rise even higher. However, Aston Martin aren’t revealing anything about that aspect of the car’s powertrain.
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