Valhalla

Segment
Coupe

Aston Martin seems to be finding its feet again, and with exciting new products like the world's most powerful luxury SUV being joined by other headline-grabbers like the Aston Martin V12 Vantage, it's safe to say that the future looks bright for the British brand. There's still a lot more to look forward to yet, including the V12 Valkyrie hypercar and the slightly more sane, V8-powered Valhalla. Both of these spectacular supercars are sure to attract a lot of attention, but they're not the only exciting new projects in the works. According to a new report from Autocar in the UK, Aston Martin has another, slightly more attainable supercar in the works, and it's aimed squarely at Ferrari.

According to the report, 2023 will see Aston Martin reveal a mid-engine, V8-powered alternative to Ferrari's spectacular 296 GTB. The car in question was originally to be called the Vanquish, but Aston chairman Lawrence Stroll has said that this is likely to change. In fact, the entire car is expected to be very different from the original concept we saw at Geneva 2019 and will be switching out Aston Martin's self-developed V6 engine for a 4.0-liter twin-turbo AMG-developed V8. Last week at the launch of the DBX707, Aston Martin CEO Tobias Moers told CarBuzz that the reason for the switch was that when he joined AM, the V6 was nothing more than a pipedream, with no physical development yet completed.

Since the new car will slot in below the Valkyrie and Valhalla, a price point of around £250,000 (around $328,800 at current exchange rates) is expected. Despite this relatively low asking price - the Valhalla will cost around $800k and the Valkyrie has a $3 million sticker price - this being the cheapest mid-engine Aston does not mean that performance will be poor in any way.

In fact, the flat-plane crank engine is likely to develop around 630 horsepower on its own. Now, Aston Martin recently confirmed to us that its mid-engine-style cars will never become pure EVs. However, that does not mean no hybridization. Rather, the nouveau Vanquish will likely take advantage of the 201-hp electric motor seen on the Mercedes-AMG GT 63 S E Performance. If this turns out to be accurate, a total of 831 hp would place the new mid-engine offering above the DBS and below the Valhalla in terms of outright power. Thanks to a carbon fiber tub, the car should weigh less than 1,500 kilograms (3,300 pounds) and a Valkyrie-inspired aero package will enhance downforce and high-speed cornering, albeit in a less extreme manner as this is a road-focused car with good on-road manners.

The new model is also expected to benefit from Aston's new generation of infotainment - which was confirmed to CarBuzz will not be MBUX based, but a fully in-house developed system. But while this will be a tamer car that can be fully enjoyed on the road, there will be a hardcore focus too. Much like the Lamborghini Huracan Super Trofeo Evo 2 or Ferrari 599XX, Aston intends to create its own one-make series. This should see racing in Europe, North America, and Asia. Stroll says that this sort of thing is best-suited to the new offering, as launching its own race program was a matter of "waiting for a proper mid-engine car to do it with" because "it's more appropriate." We'll know more ahead of a full reveal in the second half of 2023.