FIRST DRIVE! Aston Martin Valkyrie: An F1 Car For The Road | Henry Catchpole - The Driver's Seat - Hagerty Media
In this episode, Henry Catchpole finally gets to drive the incredible Aston Martin Valkyrie. Under the spectacular floodlights of the Sakhir F1 Circuit in Bahrain, we got some answers as to whether this hypercar developed with Red Bull lives up to the promise of being one of the all-time greats. Will future generations mention it in the same breath as the McLaren F1, the Bugatti Veyron and the original supercar, the Lamborghini Miura?
With a 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 producing 1000bhp and revving to 11000rpm it has certainly got an engine that is memorable from outside the car let alone from behind the wheel. But what will 1100kg of downforce feel like? Will it actually feel drivable?
There is also an incredible ride in the track-only AMR Pro version of the Valkyrie, with none other than Formula One driver Nico Hülkenberg. Pulling over 3G around Silverstone is an interesting experience as you can tell from Henry’s face!
It’s fair to say that the development of the Valkyrie hasn’t always been easy and the video also explores what the challenges were and dives into some of the extraordinary stories that surround the car’s gestation. Just how did Adrian Newey’s phenomenally bold aerodynamic design finally make it into production as a full homologated road car? And what have sausage and mash in a pub near Milton Keynes and the Space Shuttle programme got to do with it?
We hope you enjoy the film. Let us know in the comments where we should take the Valkyrie when we get to drive it on the road.
