Finally! It's time to find out exactly what Aston Martin's Valkyrie hypercar is like to drive...
► Is it really an F1 car for the road?
Formula One pre-season testing is just about to start at the Bahrain International Circuit before the opening 2023 championship grand prix itself. Appropriately, Aston has chosen the track in the sand dunes for the media’s first real opportunity to drive a car variously described as an F1 car for the road.Yes – that 6.5-litre V12 offers a head-spinning 11,100rpm and, mated to a Rimac-sourced hybrid system, produces 1,139bhp.
Safely harnessed in a reclined ‘feet-up’ position, I’m then presented with an F1-style steering wheel and talked through the switchgear, with special emphasis on one marked KERS. There’s little else to catch the eye – apart from two screens for the rear-view door cameras and a central display for sat nav.There’s a start-up process rather than a single button and everything is loaded onto that oblong steering wheel.
The coupe is silly quick but unlike the two F1 cars I’ve driven, Valkyrie is also remarkably relaxed and easy to steer, with mid-engine balance and that epic helping of downforce to keep everything firmly planted. Even on tight corner, the Michelin Pilot Cups aren’t squealing in protest – I know I’m travelling at crazy speeds but maybe not trying hard enough.
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