Engineering Excercise
Every so often, we still get the odd hypercar that nobody was expecting. Despite our world being driven by sustainability, some brands are still willing to bankroll passion projects that produce stunning cars that everyone lusts for.
One of the most recent examples is the 2024 Aston Martin Valkyrie, a project so ambitious and hyper-focused on absolute performance. Very few of these examples were made, and when one goes up for sale, it’s a big deal.
Pinnacle of Automotive Technology and Design
There’s one Valkyrie that’s just been listed on the DuPont Registry. This particular car is model number 130 of just 150 total and comes with an extremely low 156 miles. The color is also the iconic Satin Lime Essence we associate with the Valkyrie, alongside the British Racing Green color.
Multiple variants and body types were offered: the spider, the AMR Pro, the Valkyrie LM, and the Coupe. The LM and the Pro were both track-only versions; this for-sale model is a coupe, making it street-legal. This car is a collaboration project with Red Bull Racing, and the legendary F1 designer Adrian Newey was very hands-on with it.
Honing in on the F1 aspect, the Valkyrie has a lot of unique features that other hypercars don’t necessarily have. For example, the drivers sit in a reclined feet-up position just like in F1. The interior is very minimalist; all of the buttons and displays are mounted on the removable steering wheel.
Aerodynamics is a huge part of this car, and the underbody venturi tunnels generate up to 4,000 lbs of downforce. The body itself is also very lightweight, made from 100% carbon fibre, and it achieves the highly sought-after Power to Weight ratio of 1:1. Weight is such a big deal that the front emblem is etched on the body, and is just 40 microns thick, making it 99.4% lighter than a normal emblem.
Hyper Performance and Price
Its engine, of course, is a derivative of current F1 technology. A 6.5-liter naturally aspirated Aston Martin V12, which comes with a Kinetic Energy Recovery System (KERS) developed by Rimac. The total power output is a mind-bending 1,160 hp and 664 ft-lb of torque; it is actually considered one of the loudest engines ever made. Decibel ratings are at 137db, and owners are supplied with helicopter-grade noise-cancelling headphones.
Being such a rare car, there is no listed price. It’s a price-type deal, but historically, Aston Valkyries have sold for around $2,500,000 to $3,000,000. This one, being a coupe, is actually considered one of the variants that holds its value due to exclusivity.
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