Aston Martin is the most interesting car company in the world right now. Despite headlines about profit warnings, job losses and F1 engineering woes, the 113-year-old car maker’s output is as exciting as can be. What started with the V12-powered Valkyrie, which entered production in 2021, reaches a crescendo this year, when the marque releases the mid-engined, hybrid-powered Valhalla supercar.
The £2.4mn Valkyrie hypercar set the direction of the company under the leadership of Canadian businessman Lawrence Stroll. The DB12 “Super Tourer” arrived in 2023, followed by the V8-powered Vantage and the brilliantly bonkers twin-turbo V12 Vanquish, both in 2024. But the £850,000 spaceship-like, V8-hybrid Valhalla is a next-level development, and it’s sitting before me in the pouring rain on the Navarra racetrack in northern Spain.
The Valhalla is produced in a limited run of 999 © Photographer Max Earey
“The Valkyrie was our first mid-engined car, but it was so extreme,” says Aston Martin’s development driver, racer and three-time Le Mans class winner, Darren Turner. “The Valhalla represents so many firsts for this category, and for Aston Martin. It’s a look at the future.”
The Valhalla is its first plug-in hybrid electric vehicle. It’s uncharted territory for the brand, as it moves beyond grand tourers and sportscars into the highly competitive supercar club, combining combustion power with electric.
