Aston Martin-Red Bull F1 to develop mid-engined hypercar

Aston Martin and the Red Bull F1 team are working together to launch a LaFerrari- and McLaren P1-rivalling, mid-engined car. Known as the ‘brother of the Valkyrie’ by its development team, the car is aimed at establishing a new benchmark for hypercars in the £1m (approximately Rs 9 crore) price bracket in around 2021, ahead of any of the established players re-entering the market.

Both the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 were launched in 2013 and, while production of both has ceased, such halo cars are typically replaced at extended intervals. The gap between the launch of the Enzo and the LaFerrari was 11 years and, were such a gap repeated, it would mean the Aston-Red Bull car stealing a march on them.

While it is loosely termed a hypercar, its performance will be far in excess of any production car previously sold, putting it in a different league to the likes of the LaFerrari and McLaren P1 and even – its makers insist – newer special editions such as the McLaren Senna and potentially the Senna GTR.

It is not clear how much the ‘brother of Valkyrie’ and Aston’s upcoming, more mainstream 488-rival – set to launch in 2021 – will share in common beyond their basic layout, but it is expected that the former will launch as a halo product to showcase Aston’s skills in the mid-engined supercar market. Consequently, the ‘brother of Valkyrie’ will likely be sold in extremely limited numbers, in order to add to its desirability.

It is likely both cars will use an all-new chassis architecture using a new carbonfibre monocoque and similar aluminium sub-frames, created using the knowhow developed during the manufacture of the Valkyrie.

Though Aston boss Andy Palmer declined to confirm on the likely powertrain that will be used by the ‘brother of Valkyrie’, there has been speculation that it could also be used as a halo project to showcase the electrified technology that Aston will bring to market around that time, albeit with a high-performance rather than efficiency focus. As such, collaboration with Mercedes’ AMG arm is possible, as is an extension of the working relationship with Cosworth, which is developing the 1,000+hp 6.5-litre V12 in the Valkyrie. Either way, it is likely to use a V8 configuration.