The Aston Martin Valkyrie Le Mans Car Sounds Lovely

Then again, what did you expect from a car with a 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12?

Photo by: Aston Martin

By: Chris Perkins

Aug 3, 2024 at 12:00pm ET

Comment

Aston Martin is shaking down its Valkyrie AMR-LMH endurance race car, and no surprise, it sounds wonderful. The brand posted a very short video clip of the car running at both Silverstone and Donnington Park, and while there's unfortunate music in the background, we get a very good listen to its naturally aspirated 6.5-liter Cosworth V-12. We can't wait to hear this echoing down the Mulsanne at Le Mans.

The Valkyrie AMR-LMH is based on the Valkyrie road car, but modified to fit the FIA's Le Mans Hypercar rules. Developed in tandem with the Heart of Racing team, the Valkyrie AMR-LMH ditches the road car's hybrid system and will run a detuned version of the V-12, as its 1,000-hp output far exceeds the limits for Hypercars. Aston Martin and the Heart of Racing intend to enter both the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech championship and the World Endurance Championship, so both are hard at work testing for next year. Per our colleagues at Motorsport.com, Aston hasn't confirmed whether it plans to run the 2025 IMSA season-opener Rolex 24 at Daytona, but it will run at Le Mans.

Whenever it hits the track, it'll be the only Hypercar derived from an actual road car, a throwback to the GT1 era of the late 1990s. It'll also be the only sports prototype with a V-12, with the rest of the field running V-6s and V-8s. So you'll be able to hear it coming.