Aston's Electrified Chariot Is The Proof That Valhalla Does Await the Worthy… And The Wealthy
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
Aston Martin has finally decided to show us its idea of the future. And by "future," I mean a car so ludicrously potent it makes a fighter jet look like a mobility scooter. It's called the Valhalla, and if you're thinking of Norse mythology and a warrior's paradise - you're not far off. Though, this particular paradise comes with a plug. Oh yeah, it's a hybrid. Don't groan just yet; this definitely is not your cousin's pious Prius.
The Valhalla isn't apologizing for anything. It recently made its grand dynamic debut – that's car-speak for "actually moved in front of people" – on the ridiculously tight and glamorous streets of Monaco. And who was behind the wheel? None other than Fernando Alonso, a man who knows a thing or two about wrestling overpowered machines around corners. If he says it's good, it's probably not entirely terrible.
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
Aston Martin has let their Formula 1 boffins – the chaps at Aston Martin Performance Technologies, no less – have a proper fiddle with the Valhalla. They've sprinkled their magic F1 dust on the dynamics, the aerodynamics, and even the fancy materials it's made from. The result? A car that apparently blends road manners with track lunacy. Or so they say. I'll reserve full judgment until I've had a go and haven't ended up in a ditch.
So, what exactly is this Valhalla? It's Aston Martin's first-ever series production mid-engined supercar. The engine's in right behind the driver, where all sensible supercars keep their noisy bits. It's also Aston's first plug-in hybrid. I know - madness! You can plug it into the wall, presumably next to your electric toothbrush, and it even has some sort of "dedicated EV range capability." How far will it go on silent electric power? The press release remains mysteriously quiet on that specific number. Perhaps just far enough to sneak out of your neighborhood before unleashing the V8 beast.
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
Underneath that undoubtedly stunning, carbon fiber bodywork, lurks a powertrain that sounds like it was cooked up in a very expensive, very British laboratory. The heart of it is a bespoke 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8. And not just any off-the-shelf V8, but a flat-plane crank V8 – the sort that screams like a banshee gargling hornets. This internal combustion masterpiece delivers a very healthy 817 horsepower on its own. Aston calls it the highest-performing V8 they've ever squeezed into one of their cars, which is saying something.
But because this is the "electrified" age, that V8 gets a little help from its electric friends. Three of them, in fact. These e-motors chip in an additional 247 horsepower, bringing the grand, slightly terrifying total to 1,064 horsepower. And the torque? A tree-stump-uprooting 811 pound-feet of it. All this electrickery and old-school grunt are channeled through a brand-new 8-speed dual-clutch transmission, which also cleverly incorporates an e-Motor and an electronic rear differential. The twin electric motors on the front axle also help with some torque-vectoring all-wheel-drive cleverness. Complicated? Oh, absolutely.
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
What does all this techno-wizardry mean when the diamond-encrusted driving shoe meets the bespoke carpet? Aston claims this chariot of the gods will catapult itself from a standstill to 62 miles per hour in 2.5 seconds. Two. Point. Five. Blink, and you'll miss it – and possibly your breakfast. Keep your foot pressed firmly down, and it'll apparently keep hauling until it hits an electronically limited top speed of 217 miles per hour. That's not just fast; that's "send a strongly worded letter to your life insurance provider" fast.
Mr. Alonso himself, fresh from hooning it around Casino Square, confirmed it's "a true supercar both on the road and on track" and that it "delivers on all of the raw feelings and emotions you look for." High praise indeed from a double World Champion who probably considers his company Astra a bit pedestrian. He also mentioned working with the development team for 18 months, so his name on the sign-off sheet probably adds a few quid to the already astronomical price tag.
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
Yeah, speaking of price... well, Aston Martin seems to have forgotten to mention that little detail in the information they sent over. I'm sure it's just an oversight, and it'll be frightfully reasonable. Perhaps somewhere in the "if you have to ask, you can't afford it, old boy" ballpark.
The Valhalla is clearly a big deal for Aston Martin. Their CEO, Adrian Hallmark, called it a "monumental moment" and waxed lyrical about its "extreme performance and unprecedented dynamic bandwidth." It's the successor to the even more unhinged Valkyrie and apparently started life as a collaboration with Red Bull Racing back in 2019, before, presumably, some F1-related team T-shirts got swapped.
Image Credit: Aston Martin.
The idea of a hybrid supercar always makes me chuckle. Is it saving the planet one 217-mph blast at a time? Probably not. Is it a fiendishly clever way to extract even more performance by filling the torque gaps and providing instant oomph? Absolutely. It's like giving a shot of adrenaline to an already very angry bull. And this bull is also a limited edition, naturally. Only 999 of these Valhallas will be unleashed upon the world, with deliveries expected to kick off in the second half of 2025. So, you've got a bit of time to start saving, or perhaps remortgaging your ancestral home.
What a way to start the week - the Aston Martin Valhalla. It's got F1 tech, more power than a small power station, looks that could hurt, and enough electric bits to make it fashionably current. Is it the future of the supercar? It's certainly a future. A very fast, very loud, and very, very expensive one. And while my inner Luddite sometimes grumbles about batteries in beautiful things, even I have to admit, the prospect of nearly 1,100 horsepower delivered with a dollop of electric torque is really exciting. If only I could find that winning lottery ticket…
