Aston Martin’s Formula 1 driver Fernando Alonso has personally ordered the company to produce a road-legal, track-focused Valiant variant of its Valour sportscar.
Aston plans to build 38 Valiants, all front-engined and with a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 engine producing 745 horsepower.
The vehicle also has wheel coverings that were modeled after those from Aston’s “Muncher” car, which had a disastrous race during the 1979 Le Mans 24 Hours.
The vehicle is being manufactured by Aston’s custom “Q” production division, which gives prospective customers the option to customize the exterior design of their vehicles.
“Inspired by Valour, a tribute to Aston Martin’s 110th anniversary, I aimed to design a track-focused, race car-inspired version that also delivers an exhilarating on-road driving experience,” Alonso explained in a company-issued press release.
The reason behind the creation of Valiant is my love for driving fast.
I’ve worked closely with the Q by Aston Martin team on the design and technological specifications, and I believe together we’ve created a masterpiece.
The Valiant carries forward Aston Martin’s rich tradition of delivering exceptional driving dynamics both on the road and the track, alongside icons like the ultimate hypercar, Valkyrie, and the brand’s most focused sports car, Vantage and its brother in speed, the Vantage GT3 race car, and of course the upcoming mid-engine supercar, Valhalla,” according to an Aston press release.
Aston will compete with the Valkyrie in the World Endurance Championship starting in 2025. Adrian Newey, who co-designed the vehicle, is expected to reveal his finished RB17 hypercar prior to his departure from Red Bull.
Aston’s decision to manufacture the Valiant comes after Alpine developed the “Alpine A110 R Fernando Alonso,” a track-focused variant of the Alpine A110 R vehicle.
After Alonso, the two-time F1 world champion, had already made the decision to leave the Renault-owned firm and join Aston for 2023, Alpine said in October 2022 that it was moving on with producing 32 copies of the car, a figure selected to commemorate Alonso’s total number of grand prix wins to date.
Alonso just signed a new contract with the green team that would keep him racing in Formula One until 2025. Part of the agreement includes an unspecified off-track position that he termed as a “lifetime project” at the company.
According to Marco Mattiacci, who was Alonso’s manager at the Ferrari F1 team for a brief period in 2014 and is currently the global chief brand and commercial officer of Aston Martin Lagonda, “Valiant is a modern masterpiece.”
“Aston Martin’s Q invention, motivated by a racing legend and designed with the newest Formula One technology, unique materials, and a relentless focus on weight loss.
Its main goal is to give the motorist a really special, dramatic, and emotional driving experience.
“The peak of performance, track-focused dynamics, and hypercar intensity, the Valiant represents Aston Martin’s unwavering dedication to producing exceptional and uncommon vehicles for real drivers.”
Topics #Aston Martin #automobile #car #Fernando Alonso #Manufacturing #news #Sportscar #Valiant #vehicle
