The Aston Martin Valkyrie is like a magnet for strong emotions and experiences. It’s a car that can easily impress someone like David Coulthard, for example, who was spotted driving one in Monaco last summer. But there’s one journalist that cannot be impressed quite easily – even if they drive a supercar unlike any other on the Earth. That colleague is Chris Harris from Top Gear, to be more specific.
Harris was recently given the chance to finally test the Valyrie and it was not just a quiet and relaxing drive around the neighborhood. Instead, he was invited to sample the F1 car for the road on a… F1 track, the one in Bahrain. We can’t imagine a better place to explore one of the fastest production cars on the planet, honestly. But let’s not waste any more time and let Harris say what it feels like to get behind the wheel of the Valkyrie.
Gallery: 2022 Aston Martin Valkyrie In Supernova Red
“First of all, the noise. It’s unlike anything I’ve heard in a road car. You can’t hear yourself think. It’s outrageous, the whole thing is buzzing and fizzing. On the brakes as late as possible. Traction control is set a little bit cautiously, but revving it through second, third, and fourth outside of the silly electric stuff, it’s the fastest internal combustion car I’ve driven. A bit breathless, really,” Harris shares in his first minutes with the car on the track.
Perfectly matching what the Top Gear host says about the car are its specifications. A 6.5-liter naturally-aspirated V12 engine tailored by Cosworth sits behind the seats and produces around 1,000 horsepower alone and has a redline at 11,100 rpm. A KERS-style F1-inspired boost system adds a further 160 hp of output for a peak system power of around 1,160 hp at 10,500 rpm. The peak torque, in turn, reaches 664 pound-feet at a relatively low 6,000 rpm.
What’s Harris’ verdict on the Valkyrie? You can learn more in the final minutes of the video at the top of this page but to summarize, he seems to like the car better without the “silly electric stuff” as it offers a better connection between the man and the machine. Everything else you need to know is in the video.
