Aston Martin has a long history of giving its more potent models names that start with the letter V. “Vantage” was first used as long ago as 1950 to distinguish higher-powered versions of existing cars, although it has since become a model in its own right. Since then, Aston has also used Virage, Vanquish, and, for last year’s millionaire track tool, Vulcan. Now there’s set to be another V car, and it will be the quickest yet, with the British sports-car maker confirming that its forthcoming somewhere-beyond-hyper car will be called the Aston Martin Valkyrie.
We’ve already told you about Aston’s grandiose plans for the Valkyrie, which was previously known by its code name of AM-RB 001. It’s being developed by a team led by Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, and we are promised that it will offer performance comparable to an LMP1 race car in its fully stripped-out track guise; a street-legal version also will be available.
Although we will still need to wait for full technical details on this adjective-stretching machine, Aston has also confirmed that Michelin will be making the tires, with unique-to-the-car Pilot Sport Cup 2s under development. These will be 265/35R-20s at the front and enormous 325/30R-21s at the rear.
As for the origins of that name, Aston has helpfully added a note to its press release to give more details, upon which we won’t even attempt to improve:
“Norse Mythology: The Valkyrie—literal translation from Old Norse being ‘Chooser of the slain’—are female figures who select who may live and who may die in battle. The Valkyrie then bring half of those slain on the battlefield to Valhalla, the afterlife governed by Odin, Ruler of the Gods.”
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