Aston Martin Made A Serious Mistake With The Valkyrie

Jul. 03, 2019 2:56 PM ET by Martin Bigg / 6 Comments

The Valkyrie is limited to 150 units, but Aston Martin could have sold six times more than that.

The Valkyrie is one of our most anticipated new hypercars and the most extreme car Aston Martin has ever built. Developed in close collaboration with Red Bull Racing, the Valkyrie is essentially a race car for the road, with advanced motorsport-inspired aerodynamics and a Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 with 1,000 horsepower and 545 lb-ft of torque on tap.

Staggeringly, the Valkyrie's electric system designed by Rimac will add a further 160 hp and 206 lb-ft, bringing the total output to 1,160 hp at 10,500 rpm and 663 lb-ft of torque at 6,000 rpm. Only 150 units are planned for production, and each one has already been sold – despite the eye-watering $3.25 million price tag. Speaking to Carsales, CEO Andy Palmer admitted the automaker seriously underestimated demand for the radical hypercar.

Aston Martin

Originally, the Valkyrie's production was going to be even more limited. "When we started discussing Valkyrie volumes we thought we might do 24 or 59," Palmer told the publication. "Then we said, OK, maybe we'll sell 100, well let's try for 150..."

Back in 2016, Aston Martin unveiled the AM RB 001 Concept as a preview of the production Valkyrie. It was at this point Palmer realized how much interest the insane hypercar was generating from prospective buyers. "It's then I realized I could have sold that car five or six times over and you kick yourself," Palmer said. "And it is really painful, sometimes and one of the things I keep promising myself is that we say we're going to do 150 and we don't do 151 – I think it's really important that when you make a promise, you keep it."

Aston Martin

Despite the strong demand, Aston Martin doesn't plan to make any more Valkyrie cars. Palmer said we shouldn't expect to see "lots and lots of derivatives" of the Valkyrie to keep the car exclusive but did hint at the possibility of producing a targa or spider version. A separate track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro will enter production, however, which Aston Martin claims can set lap times faster than a Formula 1 car. Production will be limited to just 25 units.

Aston Martin

Aston Martin Made A Serious Mistake With The Valkyrie

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