Biography
The Aston Martin Valkyrie (also known by its code-names as AM-RB 001 and Nebula) is a limited production hybrid sports car collaboratively built by British automobile manufacturers Aston Martin, Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies and several others. The sports car is a product of collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing to develop a track-oriented car entirely usable and enjoyable as a road car, conceived by Adrian Newey, Dr Andy Palmer, Christian Horner and Simon Spoule. Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing's Chief Technical Officer and the world's most successful F1 designer aided in the design of the car. In February 2017, Aston Martin revealed most of the vehicle's specifications. The final specifications were revealed later in the year. Several manufacturers (other than Aston Martin and Red Bull) have taken part in the Valkyrie's construction, those being Cosworth, Ricardo, Rimac Automobili, Multimatic, Alcon, Integral Powertrain Ltd, Bosch, Surface Transforms, Wipac, HPL Prototypes and Michelin. The car contains a 6.5-litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine tailored by Cosworth, which produces around 746 kW (1,000 hp) at 10,500 rpm, with a redline of 11,100 rpm. This will make it the most powerful naturally-aspirated engine ever to be fitted to a production road car. With a KERS-style boost system akin to those fitted to F1 cars, the Aston Martin Valkyrie's hybrid system has been developed by two main technical partners; Integral Powertrain Ltd, who supplied the bespoke electric motor, and Rimac for the lightweight hybrid battery system. As a result, the full hybrid system contributes an additional 120 kW (160 bhp) of power and a further 280 N⋅m of available torque with the certified max power output of Aston Martin Valkyrie standing at 865 kW (1,160 hp) @ 10,500rpm. Equally, with the full hybrid system, peak torque will stand at 900 N⋅m (664 lbf⋅ft) @ 6,000 rpm At the same time the power output figures were released, the weight was announced to be 1,030 kg (2,271 lb), surpassing the intended 1:1 power-to-weight ratio with 840 kW (1,126 hp) per ton. The car can accelerate to 100 km/h (62 mph) from a standstill in a time of 2.6 seconds. The exhausts exit at the top of the car, near the engine, similar to those of Formula One cars and the Porsche 918 Spyder. Bosch supplies the Valkyrie's ECU unit, traction control system, and ESP. The braking system is provided by Alcon and Surface Transforms. The front and rear lights are manufactured by Wipac. The car has all-carbon fibre bodywork and is installed with a carbon fibre Monocell from manufacturer Multimatic. Michelin supplies the Valkyrie with the company's high-performance Sport Cup 2 tyres, having sizes of 265/35-ZR20 at the front and 325/30-ZR21 at the rear. The wheels are constructed out of lightweight magnesium alloy (20 in (510 mm) front, 21 in (530 mm) rear) with race-spec centre-lock wheel nuts to reduce mass. In 2020, after Red Bull Racing's Red Bull Racing RB16 had its first shakedown in Silverstone Circuit, drivers Max Verstappen and Alexander Albon drove the car around the track.