Nearly seven years after we first told you about it, PH gets behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Valkyrie...
Bringing us to now and – with the majority of customer cars delivered – the chance to actually drive it in Bahrain on the International Circuit, just ahead of the track’s role as venue for the Formula 1 season’s curtain raiser.
The packaging issues were well covered in my story on the Goodwood passenger ride next to then-CEO Tobias Moers. That confirmed that although two blokes can squeeze into the tight-fitting cockpit, their relationship in there will necessarily be a close one. Fortunately, at Bahrain I’ve got it to myself, although with the need to have the minimal padding at the base of the driver’s seat removed to stop my helmeted head from banging against the roof.
The view from the driver’s seat is pinch-yourself special. The canopy windscreen wraps around and is strongly reminiscent of a Group C race car. There two digital screens for the rear view cameras, one on each side, plus an e-mirror mounted high. There is also a touchscreen offset to the right of the dashboard for various lesser functions, the first fitted to an Aston, although I barely glanced at it.
Yes it is ferociously fast. High-end EVs have ably demonstrated the difficulty the human brain has in quantifying raw acceleration in the absence of other stimuli; YouTube is packed with evidence of hot Teslas wasting supercars in spooky silence. In terms of pure pace, the Valkyrie might even be slower than thein a straight line, the EV being probably the quickest thing I’ve driven given Lotus’s claim the finished car can get from rest to 186mph 4.
Towards the end of my first session, I suddenly felt the Valkyrie hitting a limiter well before I was expecting it, with a glance at the steering wheel showing that the red line had fallen significantly, dropping as low as 8,000rpm at one point. Returning to the pits confirmed that engine had been struggling with the high ambient temperatures, and that cruising in a higher gear for even half a lap would cool the coolant enough to restore the redline.
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