Aston Martin Valhalla Takes AMG V8 Power To Heights Mercedes Couldn’t

Aston Martin thinks it is ready to enter the hall of performance car warriors. The specs and details are in for its plug-in hybrid supercar called Valhalla, and they are impossible to ignore (and better than the Valhalla originally promised). 1,064 horsepower, 1,300 pounds of downforce, and a top speed that is electronically limited to the far side of 200 mph. Meet Aston Martin’s first-ever mid-engine supercar, with a twin-turbo V8 producing more power than AMG has ever managed and plenty of F1 influence.

Valhalla Gets Aston’s Most Powerful V8 Ever

The heart of the Valhalla is a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. It started life similar to the engines used in other Astons, including the DB12 ‘Super Tourer’ and the DBX 707 super SUV. The Mercedes-AMG engine is upgraded for the Valhalla, with new turbos and cams and a flat plane crank, and is the most powerful of its kind ever made by the Gaydon-based automaker, partly thanks to the fact that it flows 20 percent more air than the DBX 707’s engine.

817 horsepower from the engine alone, along with 632 lb-ft of torque. But the engine is not alone. It is joined with an electric motor in the eight-speed DCT in the rear and two more motors attached to the front axle. The electric motors add 248 hp and the total output is 1,064 hp with 811 lb-ft of torque.

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Aston is calling it ‘the world’s first super tourer.’

Aston’s first mid-engine supercar can go from 0-62 mph in 2.5 seconds and reach a limited top speed of 217 mph. Although other factors like suspension, rubber, and weight helpt it achieve such rapid acceleration, the real stars of the show are the electric motors that give the car AWD and subtract turbo lag; the rear motor gives the engine a boost with torque fill during shifts. It also handles reverse, which helps make the gearbox lighter and simpler. It’s the same trick Aston pulled with the Valkyrie, but in a friendlier package.

Despite its mid-engine chassis, race car looks, and incredible aero, Aston insists this will be a road car for drivers. It even offers a special set of winter tires for people who love making their insurance agents squirm.

Carbon Tub, Aluminum Subframes, F1 Front Suspension

The engine sits in a carbon fiber monocoque chassis with aluminum subframes holding the F1-style pushrod suspension in the front and the 5-link suspension in the back. The tub helps keep weight down to 3,649 pounds and is also incredibly stiff. Aston designed this car on the back of the Valkyrie, which was the work of Adrian Newey, whose Formula One cars have won 14 World Drivers’ Championships and 12 Constructors’ Championships, so it’s possibly one of the best structures a “regular” supercar has ever seen.

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The Valhalla is set to enter production next year.

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Fire it up and the default drive mode is Sport. That’s a bit of turn it up to eleven, though, because the other modes are Sport+ and Race. And EV, of course. It can drive 8 miles on electric power at up to 80 mph (Editor: So just enough to avoid the ire of the local homeowners’ association, then).

Each drive mode varies the stiffness and response of the Bilstein adaptive dampers. It also adjusts the performance of the active aero system, torque vectoring and hybrid assist, and steering calibration system.

Active Aero Includes Huge Downforce, DRS, And Airbrake

Race mode cranks the wing up 10 inches into the air for more downforce. Valhalla’s F1-style active aero elements include a DRS-like opening of the rear wing plus there is an active front wing hiding under the chassis. In full downforce mode, the car makes 1,322 pounds of it, and it makes it from 149 mph all the way to the 217-mph top speed. The wings “bleed” excess downforce as the car goes faster, keeping the balance consistent.

This much power needs a huge amount of cooling. There are three radiators up front for the engine, one for the high-voltage system, and one for the battery cooler. Air for the two intercoolers comes from the scoop on the roof, and there are two side-mounted radiators in the rear vents. One for engine oil, one for the transmission.

410 mm six-pot carbon-ceramic brakes up front and 390 mm four-pots on the rear handle braking, along with the air brake setting on the rear wing. They’re the biggest brakes on any Aston sports car and all four have dedicated air cooling ducts.

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Despite all of that, it still looks like an Aston. The nose is the brim we’ve known from the brand for generations, and the grille latticework is a version of the brand’s signature. Aston shows it in one of its many green paints, but it’s also available in exposed carbon fiber with either a matte or gloss finish, which can also be tinted green, red, or blue, just like all the cool kids are doing. The company has worked to make the shape elegant, but the shape is still rich with Valkyrie influence and motorsport flair. Aston Martin has also simplified it over the original design in various areas, such as the front clamshell, which was originally 20 different parts and is now one single component.

Aston Martin is building 999 copies of the Valhalla. The first deliveries are expected in the second half of 2025, and if you’re curious, then Aston will let you configure one the way you would like it right now. As for pricing, that’s a mystery for now, but feel free to drop us an email if you get wind of the answer.

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Expert Opinion

1,064 hp – the same figure as the latest Corvette ZR1, coincidentally – is still a scary number to contemplate for a so-called “regular” supercar, but four-figure output is more accessible than ever these days, in both variety and actual use on the road. Aston Martin is worthy of applause for something else, though: creating a clear stylistic transcendence for its Lamborghini Temerario rival, linking it visually and technically more to a hypercar than Sant’Agata (or indeed Maranello) has yet managed for its own volume supercars, emotive as those admittedly are. Aston Martin is creating some of the prettiest and most powerful fantasy cars at the moment, but can it match the Italians on its first attempt? Time will tell.