To the gates of Valhalla! Aston Marton joins the plug-in hybrid hypercar club with astonishing mid-engine beast – it will even travel 14km on electricity alone!

December 12, 2024December 12, 2024 Bruce Newton 9574 Views Aston, Valhalla

The hybrid hypercar battle has heated up even more with confirmation of the outrageous performance capability of the first plug-in Aston Martin.

Boasting a combined 794kW and 1100Nm, the Valhalla is also Aston’s first series production mid-engined supercar.

After six years development It will enter production in the UK in the second half of 2025 with 999 to be built. And while most hypercars don’t make it Down Under because they aren’t built in right-hand drive, this one will be coming to Australia.

The Valhalla is more powerful than the rival PHEV models such as the Ferrari 296 GTB, McLaren Artura and Lamborghini Temerario.

Pricing in the UK has been put at up to 850,000 pounds, including VAT, which translates to $1.7 million dollars even before you add in transport, luxury car tax, import duty, other taxes and other logistical costs. Think something north of $3 million and you’d be somewhere near what the Valhalla is likely to set you back.

The Valhalla’s power figure has climbed from previous estimates and the torque output is the highest for any Aston Martin in history.

The Valhalla combines a twin turbocharged 4.0-litre AMG flat-plane-crank V8 producing 609kW with three electric motors – two driving the front axle and one in the eight-speed dual clutch automatic transmission acting as a starter-generator – that adds another 184kW.

By the way the Valhalla, or AM-RB 003 as it was originally known when first revealed as a concept in 2019, was V6 powered.

Aston claims the Valhalla will rip from 0-100km/h in 2.5 seconds and charge on to an electronically limited top speed of 350km/h.

Via active aerodynamics, the Valhalla also produces more than 600kg of downforce between 240km/h and 350km/h. Important elements include a deployable rear wing, an adjustable front splitter and two massive underbody venturi tunnels.

The Valhalla offers four different drive modes, one of which is Pure EV. Then only the two radial flux e-motors drive the front axle for up to 14km and a top speed of 140km. Battery size or chemistry has not been confirmed.

In normal driving the Valhalla is all-wheel drive. It reverses exclusively as an EV to save the weight of a reverse gear in the DCT transmission.

Speaking of weight, the Valhalla is built around a bespoke carbon-fibre tub and body that enables a dry overall weight of just 1655kg and an incredible power to weight ratio of 480kW per 1000kg.

The Valhalla features height adjustable pushrod front- and five-link rear-suspension with adaptive dampers, electric-assist power steering, enormous carbon ceramic brakes – 410mm front and 390mm rear – and standard 20-inch front and 21-inch rear wheels wrapped in Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 tyres (or there are optional magnesium wheels with Cup 2 rubber as well).

The mid-engine layout allows Aston to debut a new design language. Details included forward-hinged dihedral doors, an F1-style roof snorkel and top-exit exhausts.

The Valhalla is presented with a left-hand drive cockpit that Aston describes as “pared back”, but not so much as to exclude Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.

Local pricing and just how many vehicles out of the 999-unit production run will make it Down Under is expected to be announced in the first quarter of next year.