A little over a month ago, Aston Martin was happy to announce the start of series production of the Valkyrie, its mid-engined electrified hypercar it first unveiled as a concept back in mid-2016. As it turns out, the problems are not over yet for Gaydon’s flagship model as, despite multiple delays, a new issue has emerged.

Automotive News Europe has learned from people close to the British high-end automaker the engineers are currently facing “electronics issues,” even though production started on November 4. None of the finished cars have been delivered to their rightful owners, who have been patiently waiting for years to hop behind the wheel of the track-focused coupe.

Aston Martin has released a statement in an e-mail, saying “the first customer car has completed its shakedown, with documentation now being prepared for delivery in the next few days.” The 1,140-horsepower hybrid beast with its Cosworth V12 will be sent to its owner “without any compromises” and production of the sold-out hypercar continues “at pace.”

A total of 150 coupes will be assembled, plus 85 examples of the Spider body style introduced in August. Customer deliveries of the open-top derivative are not scheduled to commence until the latter half of next year.

The Valkyrie will be followed by not one, but two high-performance machines, both of which are expected to employ a hybrid powertrain. The new Valhalla will use an AMG-sourced twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 gasoline engine working together with a pair of turbochargers and dual electric motors for a combined output of 937 hp.

In addition, the Vanquish is coming back, though details about the third amped-up coupe have not been disclosed.

Meanwhile, Aston Martin recently introduce a mild-hybrid DBX in China and is preparing to launch a different hybrid version of the popular luxury SUV in other parts of the world. The DB11 and Vantage successors have already been confirmed as EVs, while an electric SUV is also on the agenda.

Source: Automotive News Europe

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The coupe will be joined by a Spider version as well as a hardcore AMR Pro restricted to the track. The road-going models will utilize a Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter V12, a naturally aspirated gasoline engine revving up to 11,000 rpm. The combustion engine is going to work together with an electric motor developed by Rimac to form a hybrid setup good for an astounding 1,140 horsepower (850 kilowatts).

It’s far from being the first hybrid hypercar as the “Holy Trinity” consisting of the Ferrari LaFerrari, McLaren P1, and Porsche 918 Spyders all had electrified powertrains in the early 2010s, but Aston Martin is taking the technology to new heights. The mid-engined machine will have to go up against another hybrid hypercar, the Mercedes-AMG One due in 2022 with an electrified setup borrowed from Lewis Hamilton’s championship-winning Formula 1 car.

The Gaydon-based automaker will follow up on the Valkyrie with another hybrid offering, this time around a more affordable Valhalla supercar featuring a twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 borrowed from AMG and teamed up with dual electric motors. It will have a combined output of 937 hp (699 kW), which is not that far off compared to the V12 flagship.

But wait, there’s more. A third performance machine, which will revive the Vanquish moniker, is also in the works and likely to feature a hybrid configuration as well since this is where the industry is heading. As with other automakers, Aston Martin is channeling its efforts towards hybrids and EVs to prepare for the inevitable death of the combustion engine.

Source: Aston Martin

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Co-developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies (RBAT) to benefit from its vast Formula 1 expertise, the new Valkyrie Spider features a removable roof panel and swaps out the coupe’s gullwing doors for dihedral doors. It retains the hybrid powertrain of the regular model, based around a Cosworth-developed naturally aspirated V12. The 6.5-liter combustion engine and electric motor work harmoniously to develop a massive combined output of 1,140 horsepower.

The gasoline engine revs to over 11,000 rpm while the electric motor has been developed by Rimac to provide an extra boost and complement the V12. The hybrid system helps the Valkyrie Spider reach a top speed of 350 km/h (218 mph) with the roof in place, while removing the top lowers the maximum velocity to 330 km/h (205 mph).

Aston Martin has engineered the droptop version with a pair of polycarbonate roof windows that can be easily removed after opening the doors, which lift forwards and were purpose-built for the Valkyrie Spider. The electrified hypercar is marginally heavier and nearly as sleek as the coupe as two main focuses during development were to keep the weight and aerodynamic penalties down to a minimum.

Only 85 units are planned for production and Aston Martin says its fastest and most powerful road-going convertible will be sold in both left- and right-hand-drive configurations. Customer deliveries are going to begin in the second half of 2022, and interested parties will be able to place their orders in the near future.

The British high-end brand claims the Valkyrie Spider is already a commercial hit as the company has more early adopters than the entire production run, with allocations to begin shortly. On display at Pebble Beach in Monterey, California until Sunday, the ultra-fast convertible will be shown only based on invitation.

Source: Aston Martin

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While the car’s identity has not been disclosed, the adjacent teaser image seemingly indicates we are dealing with a roadster version of the Valkyrie, Aston Martin’s flagship model. The hybrid hypercar has gullwing doors in the coupe body style, but this image shows the Valkyrie with scissor doors – a change in layout usually associated when an automaker transforms a sports coupe into a convertible.

It is unclear at this point whether Aston Martin has developed the Valkyrie Roadster with a removable top or the hypercar will come exclusively without a roof. If it does have a top, it’s likely a manually removable targa panel since there doesn’t seem to be any space in the back to fold down a soft roof, let alone a hardtop.

Aside from the different roof setup, the Valkyrie Roadster should be mechanically identical to the coupe. Its heart and soul will be a naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 engine developed by Cosworth working together with a hybrid system. The combined output will stand at a staggering 1,160 horsepower (865 kilowatts) and 900 Newton-meters (664 pound-feet) of torque.

The electric motor has been developed by Rimac and develops 160 hp and 207 lb-ft on its own while the internal combustion engine – which revs up to 10,500 rpm – does the heavy lifting by pumping out 1,000 hp and 546 lb-ft.

The Valkyrie coupe and roadster will be complemented by a track-only AMR Pro derivative without the electrical assistance, meaning its powertrain will deliver “only” 1,000 hp.

Aston Martin plans to take the wraps off the Valkyrie roadster on August 12 during a private VIP event at the 2021 Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance. A day later, it will be available to view at the Aston Martin Club 1913, by invitation.

Source: Aston Martin

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