Geneva show: Aston confirms Valkyrie name

ASTON Martin has dropped the protracted and awkward AM-RB 001 codename for its forthcoming hyper car and confirmed that the vicious vehicle it is developing in partnership with the Red Bull Formula One team will be officially entitled the Valkyrie.

The decision continues the quintessentially British car-maker’s tradition of naming its most potent production vehicles with monikers starting with the letter V, following in the tyre tracks of Volante, Vantage, Virage, Vanquish and Vulcan variants.

So-called ‘V cars’ were slapped with a name starting with V to identify them as higher-performance variants of more standard cars, starting in 1951 with the Vantage version of its DB2, although it is understood the Valkyrie will be outrageously fast in both track and road varieties.

Aston is clearly implying that its eagerly anticipated F1-derived coupe has the potential to demolish its rivals with the Valkyrie name, which is taken from Norse Mythology and means “chooser of the slain”.

Until the first set of concrete facts surface regarding the Valkyrie’s performance, it is not possible to identify a clear rival but Mercedes-AMG’s imminent Project One hypercar would be an obvious opponent with, it too, directly benefiting from Formula One technology.

Aston Martin chief creative officer Marek Reichman explained that the naming of such a significant vehicle was an important part of the process but Valkyrie was a fitting title.

“Aston Martin model names have deep meaning,” he said. “They need to inspire and excite. To tell a story and enrich a narrative that stretches back some 104 years. The Aston Martin Valkyrie is an incredibly special car that demands an equally remarkable name an uncompromising car that leaves nothing in reserve.”“The connotations of power and honour, of being chosen by the Gods are so evocative, and so pertinent to a car that only a fortunate few will ever experience.”

The Valkyrie will officially launch in 2018 with just 150 road versions and 25 track cars rolling out of the Aston Martin specialised manufacturing facility in the United Kingdom.

Little is known about the model’s construction or drivetrain but a high-revving, naturally-aspirated V12 engine, full carbon-fibre construction and a power-to-weight ratio of one brake horse power per kilogram of weight has previously been confirmed.