Aston Martin Valkyrie to chase outright victory at Le Mans in 2021

It is official. Aston Martin has dedicated to the brand new hypercar class of the World Endurance Championship with its Valkyrie flagship, which suggests the automobile is about to struggle for outfight victory within the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Aston Martin made the announcement on Friday at Le Mans, the place the automaker is making ready for this weekend’s operating of the 24-hour French basic within the GTE class with the Vantage.

Aston Martin Valkyrie with AMR Observe Efficiency Pack

The objective is to subject no less than two Valkyries within the hypercar class of the 2020/2021 WEC season, whose remaining race would be the 2021 24 Hours of Le Mans.

The hypercar class is about to turn out to be the brand new high class of the WEC. It would substitute the present LMP1 class, which has turn out to be a farce because the sole producer is Toyota. With Aston Martin’s dedication, the hyperclass now has two producers—the opposite is America’s Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus—and extra are prone to be part of. Toyota is sort of sure and has already introduced the GR Tremendous Sport hypercar idea, whereas the likes of Ferrari and even Koenigsegg are potentialities with their respective SF90 Stradale and Jesko fashions.

Toyota GR Tremendous Sport idea

The hypercar class was first introduced final yr. Its goal is to draw extra producers by permitting designs that carefully resemble vehicles the producers truly promote. Some know-how can even be frequent between the street and race vehicles, similar to powertrains, however the race vehicles will nonetheless be devoted designs with separate chassis to their road-car counterparts usually.

Within the case of the Valkyrie, the race automobile will characteristic a model of the street automobile’s 6.5-liter V-12. In step with the hypercar class rules, the race automobile can even want an electrical motor-generator on the entrance axle.

Aston Martin Valkyrie’s 6.5-liter V-12

A reputation for the category is but to be determined, with the organizers, the FIA and ACO, placing the choice as much as well-liked vote. Prospects embody Tremendous Sportscar, GTPrototype and Le Mans Hypercars. The chosen identify can be revealed subsequent yr.

It was precisely 60 years in the past that an Aston Martin final received outright at Le Mans, due to the efforts of Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby in a DBR1. The win was referred to in a press release made by Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer throughout Friday’s announcement.

Le Mans-winning Aston Martin DBR1/2. Picture by way of Talacrest.

“Now we have at all times stated that we’d at some point deliver Aston Martin again to Le Mans with the intention of going for the outright win when the time was proper—now’s that point,” he stated. “David Brown got here right here in 1959, with a automobile and a crew of drivers able to successful; we intend to do the identical in 2021.”

We will not wait to listen to the wail of the Valkyrie’s high-revving V-12 because the automobile fees down the Mulsanne straight.