Aston Martin has started its Valkyrie racing programme in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and The Heart of Racing, the competition car entered WEC's top class as an LMH machine derived directly from the road-going hypercar.
That makes the Valkyrie unusual within the current field. Its carbon-fibre chassis and mid-mounted, naturally aspirated 6.5-litre Cosworth V12 come from the same basic concept as the road car. In racing form, output is capped by the regulations at 500 kW, or about 680 hp.
Aston Martin committed two THOR-run cars to the full WEC season. The programme also extends to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, making Valkyrie the only road-born LMH of its generation scheduled for regular competition on both sides of the Atlantic.
For Aston Martin, the programme is also a return to the top level of world endurance racing after decades away. The marque has not won the 24 Hours of Le Mans outright since the DBR1 victory in 1959. Valkyrie therefore matters beyond its unusual technical lineage: it is a direct attempt to connect a road-hypercar project with a serious campaign for endurance racing's biggest trophies.