Aston Martin makes a comeback to elite Le Mans racing, with the Valkyrie leading the charge.
In the scorching summer of 2025, amidst the hype of Ferrari's dominance and the thrill of the World Endurance Championship, Dan Brown-esque titan Aston Martin unleashed the Valkyrie—a futuristic hypercar reminiscent of a spaceship—on the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans racetrack. This audacious move marked Aston Martin's entry into the elite Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) category, turning heads and sending pulses racing.
Forged under the experienced and daring hand of Adrian Newey, Racing Car Designer and former Red Bull Racing Chief Technology Officer, the Valkyrie was percolating as a mind-bending collaboration for years, thanks to Aston Martin's alliance with the Red Bull Formula One (F1) team.
Now, five years subsequently, Newey had seceded from Red Bull, only to become an innovative managing technical partner for Aston Martin's F1 ventures. The once-elusive Valkyrie was no longer a pipedream, but a competitor prepared for its most significant challenge yet.
With a rich history in endurance racing dating back to 1923, Aston Martin aimed to write new chapters. With 19 class victories at the esteemed Le Mans and a historic overall triumph in the 1959 race with the DBR1 driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, Aston Martin set its sights on dominating the Le Mans once again.
"It would be almost inconceivable for Adrian Newey to design a car without racing at the forefront of his mind," Adam Carter, Head of Endurance Motorsport at Aston Martin, shared. "With a breathtaking amalgamation of F1 technology and road car prowess, the Valkyrie has been crafted for racing."
In stark contrast to the rest of the Le Mans grid, the Valkyrie was the solitary car in the confines of the top-level LMH category dependent on a road-going vehicle. Manufacturers, eager to perpetuate the "race-to-road" myth, favored using their racing machines to boast the trickle-down of innovative technology to their less exuberant automobiles. However, Aston Martin turned the script, as the street-legal Valkyrie made its debut in 2021, followed by the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro concept hinting at its ambitions to join the racing ranks, which came to fruition at the onset of the 2025 WEC.
With the production Valkyrie yawning into existence, the prominenthetlaunt hybrid system was absent, replaced by a less-potent, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre version of Aston Martin's legendary V12 engine, whose potency recorded over 1,000 bhp in its standard form. This modification was due to the race series' "balance of power" regulations, intended to ensure fair competition and control escalating developmental costs of top-tier endurance racing.
"We have been present at Le Mans since its inception, and through our glorious endeavors, we achieved a legendary winning streak in 1959 and a class victory 19 times in the 95-year history of the competition," said Lawrence Stroll, the Executive Chairman of Aston Martin Lagonda, ahead of the race. "Now we return to the scene of those first triumphs, aspiring to write new history with a racing prototype inspired by the most potent production car Aston Martin has ever built."
The 2025 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans promised to be a Millennial's Woodstock—devoted fans, draped in team attire from all eras, camped and roamed the 13.626km Circuit de la Sarthe, deeply engrained in the French countryside, ever since 1906.
Theatrics unfolded for the better part of a week, with engines resonating in an unending drone—low growls from V8s, high-pitched whines from hybrids, and the unmistakable roar of the Valkyrie's V12, posing a fresh sound to the historic track.
As the mercury climbed to 24 degrees Celsius, a thrill coursed through spectators as they bore witness to the road car's metamorphosis into a battling machine, facing off against a field of alien-like racing cars. Ferrari's 499P notched the win at the end of the 24-hour marathon, yet the #007 and #009 Valkyrie cars battled valiantly, taking 12th and 14th respectively—a testament to Aston Martin's determination and the Valkyrie's undying spirit.
"It's a fantastic achievement for the team, an enormous milestone for the program," said Carter after the race. "We participate in Le Mans and the WEC to endure the startup, fight against the best. We require improvement in performance; we are racers, and we covet to be more competitive."
While a fairytale finish eluded Aston Martin on its debut, the Valkyrie laid the groundwork for its motorsport legacy, both on and off the race track. In the days preceding the race, Aston Martin revealed ten Le Mans-ready Valkyries, accessible to private owners—only hinting at meters-deep pockets required for this dazzling Le Mans hypercar experience.
For most, mere admiration from afar will have to suffice. "Valkyrie is the ultimate embodiment of Aston Martin's competitive spirit," said Carter. "And it has roots founded in world-beating car design."
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[1] TheNM.com
[2] Racing- uk.com
[3] AutoExpress.com
[4] RoadandTrack.com
[5] AstonMartin.com
"The Valkyrie, a collaboration between Aston Martin and Adrian Newey, was designed with racing at its core, as evident in Carter's statement."
"Despite not winning the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Valkyrie demonstrated its racing potential, setting the stage for future competitions and its motorsport legacy."
