$6.5 Million Aston Martin Valkyrie LM Costs Way More for Way Less Horsepower
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Aston Martin transformed its Valkyrie hypercar into a competition prototype to go endurance racing. It also offered an extreme, track-only version to 40 lucky and deep-pocketed customers, called the AMR Pro, without a hybrid system, just like the race car. But in a surprise twist, Aston has chosen to sell yet another track-focused Valkyrie—and this one is about as close to the machine that will fight for the overall win this weekend at Le Mans as anyone will ever be able to buy. For $6.5 million before taxes, to be exact.
It's called the Valkyrie LM. Not unlike Ferrari's 499P Modificata, or the 963 RSP that Porsche built for Roger Penske, this car is mechanically identical to its motorsport counterpart, right down to its 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated Cosworth V12 that revs to 8,400 rpm and makes 697 horsepower. Enthusiasts will note that those figures are considerably less than the 11,000 rpm redline and 1,140 ponies of the street Valkyrie, but remember: This is the same car Aston races, and the Le Mans Hypercar formula carries certain constraints. Concessions have at least been made so the Valkyrie LM can run on a wider range of fuels, while ballast and electronics mandated by racing officials have been removed.
About 700 hp might not seem like much in this era of uniting internal combustion and electricity for explosive, four-figure power. However, ditching the batteries and motors has made this Valkyrie exceptionally light at 2,270 pounds, compared to the roughly 3,000 pounds of the road car. All that thrust naturally goes to the rear wheels through a seven-speed sequential gearbox.
In all likelihood, the AMR Pro will probably still be quicker; it also doesn't have a hybrid system to lug around, and makes roughly 40% more power. But, as Aston Martin CEO Adrian Hallmark says, the LM is built to achieve 'the purest and most comparable endurance-driving experience' possible. Track-only machines have been pushing beyond regulated race cars for decades, going back to the Ferrari FXX. Anyone looking for value for money on a spec sheet won't find it here, certainly not for $6.5 million. What they will find is an exact replica of a Le Mans prototype that they can keep in their garages, which Ferrari notably doesn't let 499P Modificata owners do.
The race-spec similarities extend to the Valkyrie LM's chassis, which carries over the competition car's front and rear dual wishbones and pushrod-actuated torsion bar springs with adjustable side and central dampers. There's an FIA-grade fuel system, along with an FIA-compliant harness and fire suppression setup inside, too.
Typically, by the time cars like the Valkyrie LM have been announced to the public, each one has already been spoken for. But an Aston Martin spokesperson told The Drive that's not the case for this car, and the 10 examples the company is slated to build don't yet have names attached. Pricing is expected to land around $6.5 million—over $2 million more than the AMR Pro which, again, is quicker on paper.
That's a steep price for the full racing experience, though it also includes VIP treatment for its 10 owners. Aston will arrange for each one to earn their racing license at Silverstone (assuming they don't already have one), before a year-long program where instructors and engineers will follow them around to various tracks to help develop their driving skills and tune their cars to their liking. All the joy and personal growth of motorsport, without needing to win to keep your job. Being rich sounds nice.
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