Aston Martin reveals Valkyrie’s 735kW Cosworth-developed V12

Aston Martin has revealed a breathtaking high-revving V12 engine created in conjunction with Cosworth that will make its way into the Valkyrie hypercar set to debut in 2019.

The naturally aspirated 6.5-litre 12-cylinder wonder confirms the expected performance of the Valkyrie as hinted at last year, with peak outputs of 735kW at an astonishing 10,500rpm and 740Nm at 7,000rpm.

Also incredible is the V12’s redline of 11,100rpm, a number not normally seen when it comes to road cars, which will no doubt make it sound pretty raucous too, especially if the sounds heard in Aston Martin’s teaser video you can watch below are anything to go by.

As noted in the video and also previously hinted at, the V12 won’t power the Valkyrie alone as it is set to be integrated into some form of hybrid powertrain, with the addition of some electric motors sure to add a noticeable amount of torque into the mix. The combined power figure, however, is yet to be confirmed.

The involvement of Cosworth in the development of the cracking engine, along with the expertise of Red Bull Racing engineer Adrian Newey, has helped to realise Aston Martin’s goal for the Valkyrie to create ‘the ultimate expression of the internal combustion engine’.

Cosworth’s decades of Formula 1 experience can clearly be seen in the bespoke engine, not only in its five-digit redline but also its incredibly low weight for an engine of such a size of just 206kg, while still finding strength in the materials used as the engine will form part of the car’s backbone.

Nearly all of the engine’s internals are machined from solid metal, with items such as the connecting rods and F1-spec pistons made of titanium, while the crankshaft is billet-machined over the course of six months and weighs in at 50 per cent less than that in the Aston Martin One-77 – previously the company’s most powerful road car which also sported a Cosworth-developed V12.

In a press release, Aston Martin CEO and proper petrolhead Andy Palmer confirmed that there was no option for the Valkyrie’s power plant other than a V12, no matter what.

“To anyone with a drop of petrol in their blood, a high-revving naturally aspirated V12 is the absolute pinnacle. Nothing sounds better or encapsulates the emotion and excitement of the internal combustion more completely,” said Palmer.

“Despite the apparently insurmountable challenges it presented, there was never any question that the Aston Martin Valkyrie would do with anything less.

“From the outset, the team at Cosworth were unflinching in their commitment to achieving benchmarks which pushed the boundaries of the possible.

“The result is a quite extraordinary engine. One which I doubt will ever be surpassed.”

Currently, the Valkyrie is slated to enter production in the coming year, with just 125 road-legal units and 25 hardcore track-only builds.

Expected to cost around US$3.3 million, all 150 examples have already likely been accounted for, with Aston Martin having received at least 600 serious expressions as of July 2017.