Automotive

Aston Martin’s Valkyrie V12 engine: 1,000hp, 11,100 rpm, naturally aspirated

Aston Martin’s Valkyrie V12 engine: 1,000hp, 11,100 rpm, naturally aspirated
The Aston Martin Valkyrie will be road legal
The Aston Martin Valkyrie will be road legal
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Machined rods of the Valkyrie engine
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Machined rods of the Valkyrie engine
Most of the engine's internals are machined from solid metals
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Most of the engine's internals are machined from solid metals
We're a little scared just looking at it
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We're a little scared just looking at it
Cosworth has developed a truly extraordinary engine for the truly extraordinary Valkyrie
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Cosworth has developed a truly extraordinary engine for the truly extraordinary Valkyrie
Those exhaust heat shields will have to deal with some serious temperatures when this thing gets driven remotely near its potential
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Those exhaust heat shields will have to deal with some serious temperatures when this thing gets driven remotely near its potential
This hulking 6.5-liter V8 weighs just 206 kg, and pounds out 1,000 horses without forced induction
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This hulking 6.5-liter V8 weighs just 206 kg, and pounds out 1,000 horses without forced induction
The naturally aspirated V12 will form only part of the powertrain, as Aston Martin is planning to make this a monster hybrid
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The naturally aspirated V12 will form only part of the powertrain, as Aston Martin is planning to make this a monster hybrid
The Valkyrie's engine covers
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The Valkyrie's engine covers
Look at the way the center of that bolt's been removed for lightweighting
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Look at the way the center of that bolt's been removed for lightweighting
A truly extreme, thousand-horsepower engine for a truly extreme road hypercar
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A truly extreme, thousand-horsepower engine for a truly extreme road hypercar
The Valkyrie motor on a bench dyno
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The Valkyrie motor on a bench dyno
Aston Martin has worked with Cosworth to develop a truly outrageous combustion engine for the upcoming Valkyrie
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Aston Martin has worked with Cosworth to develop a truly outrageous combustion engine for the upcoming Valkyrie
A thousand horsepower and an 11,100 rpm redline
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A thousand horsepower and an 11,100 rpm redline
Aston Martin's Valkyrie seems set to leap straight into the pantheon of iconic cars of this age
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Aston Martin's Valkyrie seems set to leap straight into the pantheon of iconic cars of this age
1,000 horsepower, 546 lb-ft, 11,100 rpm, 206 kg ... naturally-aspirated. Cosworth and Aston Martin have built one hell of a powerplant for the outrageous upcoming Valkyrie
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1,000 horsepower, 546 lb-ft, 11,100 rpm, 206 kg ... naturally-aspirated. Cosworth and Aston Martin have built one hell of a powerplant for the outrageous upcoming Valkyrie
The Aston Martin Valkyrie will be road legal
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The Aston Martin Valkyrie will be road legal
View gallery - 16 images

Aston Martin has released information about the combustion component of its insane Valkyrie hypercar's powertrain – and it's a doozy. Co-developed with Cosworth, this 6.5-liter V12 monster will make 1,000 hp, without the aid of forced induction – and in addition to its electric motors.

Nothing about the Valkyrie is remotely ordinary. This wild, street legal machine's aerodynamic profiles alone are utterly gob-stopping. And now we get our first glimpse at the motor. Well, one of the motors, at least; like just about anything playing at the very pointy end of the ultra-high performance market, the Valkyrie will be a hybrid. But its gasoline engine stands to be truly unique in its own way.

1,000 horsepower, 546 lb-ft, 11,100 rpm, 206 kg ... naturally-aspirated. Cosworth and Aston Martin have built one hell of a powerplant for the outrageous upcoming Valkyrie
1,000 horsepower, 546 lb-ft, 11,100 rpm, 206 kg ... naturally-aspirated. Cosworth and Aston Martin have built one hell of a powerplant for the outrageous upcoming Valkyrie

Dragging a thousand horses out of a production combustion engine is no mean feat; when Bugatti first did it in 2005 with the Veyron, it was an absolutely ridiculous achievement, opening up the new hypercar class with a bang. But Bugatti used no less than four turbochargers to get there.

Since the Veyron, several cars have elbowed their way into hypercar status, particularly as electric powertrains have proliferated. Making extraordinary power out of electric motors isn't what you'd call completely simple, but it's far, far easier than trying to do the same with combustion engines.

And turbos and electrics both suffer from the same rather earthy problem when it comes to performance car buyers: they might give you the speed, but purists will tell you something's missing from the soundtrack. A 1,000-hp quad turbo, some will say, is less emotional and involving and plain fun to drive than a 700-hp unit that's free to breathe and shout about the whole thing.

Aston Martin has worked with Cosworth to develop a truly outrageous combustion engine for the upcoming Valkyrie
Aston Martin has worked with Cosworth to develop a truly outrageous combustion engine for the upcoming Valkyrie

So when Aston Martin began planning a powerplant for its most outrageous road machine ever – and surely one of the wildest in history – it went to its partners at Cosworth with a request for a naturally aspirated, 1,000-hp V12 that could be homologated for the road.

And here it is: what Aston is calling "the ultimate expression of the internal combustion engine." It's a 65-degree V12 displacing an enormous 6.5 liters. It revs to no less than 11,100 rpm, making it an absolute screamer of a road car, and bangs out a thousand horses as well as 740 Nm (546 lb-ft) of torque.

It does all of this while weighing just 206 kg (454 lb), which means it's actually lighter than Cosworth's 3-liter Formula One V10 would be if it was scaled up to 6.5 liters. And it's also engineered in as a structural member of the frame, so it does extra duty holding the damn car together.

Cosworth has developed a truly extraordinary engine for the truly extraordinary Valkyrie
Cosworth has developed a truly extraordinary engine for the truly extraordinary Valkyrie

The block, cylinder heads, sump and structural cam covers are all cast, but most of what's inside has been machined out of solid metal, including the "f1-spec" pistons, and the conrods, which are machined titanium.

The crankshaft is produced in a torturous six-month process that boggles the mind a little as described by Aston Martin:

"Starting life as a solid steel bar 170 mm diameter and 775 mm long, it is first roughed out, then heat treated, finish machined, heat treated again, gear ground, final ground and superfinished. Upon completion 80 percent of the original bar has been machined away and some six months have passed."

But that's what it takes to create a crank strong enough to deal with a thousand ponies while being 50 percent lighter than the one Cosworth designed for Aston's own One-77 V12.

When it hits the road, the Valkyrie will supplement this motor's raging, screaming gasoline horsepower with some kind of battery-electric hybrid system, presumably one that'll deliver Earth-shattering torque to complement the car's wild top-end horsepower. For all we know, it might double the peak output – although the hyper-lightweight engine and carbon structure of the car might point to something a little less extreme.

Either way, you're looking at the genesis of a truly, exceptionally extreme machine here, and the Valkyrie seems poised to stake a claim as one of the iconic hypercars of our age.

Take a listen to the hair-raising song of the Cosworth V12 in the video below, and try to imagine the physical forces that'll come with that sound.

Source: Aston Martin

Update (Dec. 20, 2018): This article originally stated the "f1-spec" pistons were machined titanium. This was an error that has now been corrected. We apologize for this and thank the commenters who brought it to our attention.

Aston Martin Valkyrie - V12 Cosworth engine

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13 comments
13 comments
guzmanchinky
Whenever I see something like this I think of the incredible and crazy complex engineering that has to take place to turn fuel into rotational energy and think "wow" but also "why?" It all just seems pointless now that electric motors can do the job so much more precisely and with only a few moving parts, none of which reciprocate. And more reliably. And with more power. Someday (soon) we will look back on gasoline powered cars as something clunky and imprecise and inelegant, much the same way we would compare a carburetor inducted piston aircraft engine from the 1930's to a modern high bypass turbine.
Bob Stuart
I'm guessing that the biggest difference between this engine and older ones is advanced fuel injection, but there are a dozen other possibilities that may also be included.
smackoz
Electric cars with that sort of performance weigh tonnes, literally! Just checkout the weight of a top end Tesla car.
smackoz
https://toyotanews.pressroom.toyota.com/releases/toyota+land+cruiser+claims+title+worlds+fastest+suv.htm
Sure it was a one-off but still impressive just the same.
MarylandUSA
Yeah, but can it use regular 87-octane fuel? If not, I won't be trading-in my 2011 Fiesta anytime soon.
Gene Preston
Isn't this car still slightly slower than the Tesla Roadster?
McDesign
Guys - remember - this brief period here is the Woodstock moment of the IC engine - it's the party at the end of school, before electrics take over. I do agree, even if I do have a V-12 hotrod among my toy cars.
Grunchy
Everybody who keeps harping on about electric completely replacing gasoline power: this was supposed to happen 50 years ago, with lawnmowers. It never happened. So time to quit it already? Thanks.
*Joe*
"Isn't this car still slightly slower than the Tesla Roadster?"
Where did you find the performance specs, Gene?
Martin Hone
No surprises that the pistons and con-rods are machined, presumably from billet or forgings. Certainly an awesome piece. As stated, it is a doozy, an old saying that goes back to the Duesenberg era....it's a Duesy !
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