Source: RM Sotheby’s
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Racing into its second century, Aston Martin is arguably one of the most storied and evocative brands in the history of the automobile, having earned its place in history on the silver screen, in showrooms, and on the racetrack. The firm has experienced a return to its top-tier motorsport roots under the custodianship of Lawrence Stroll, while its road-car portfolio is as exciting as it has ever been. Straddling both worlds is a stunning, limited-edition track-focused hypercar that perhaps best encapsulates the new era of Aston Martin: the Valkyrie AMR Pro.
It would be easy to assume that the AMR Pro is simply a Valkyrie with more aggressive aerodynamics, but this special machine is far more than that. Beneath its spectacular bodywork, the AMR Pro is built on a unique version of the Valkyrie chassis featuring a wheelbase stretched by 380 millimetres and 96 millimetres wider in the front and 115 millimetres wider in the rear. The aforementioned aerodynamics package adds an additional 266 millimetres in length and generates twice the amount of downforce available in the road-legal Valkyrie. Further to that, the AMR Pro will achieve lateral acceleration of more than 3g.
In seeking to trim the AMR Pro’s weight even further, its creators removed the standard Valkyrie’s battery-electric hybrid system and made greater use of ultra-lightweight materials, with carbon fibre bodywork, carbon suspension wishbones, and a Perspex windscreen and side windows, in addition to a variety of other weight saving measures. The cumulative effect of the changes shaved around 150 kilograms from the kerb weight of the road-going Valkyrie coupé, an incredible amount for such a purpose-built automobile. When paired with the Aston Martin’s fire-breathing 1,000-horsepower, 6.5-litre naturally aspirated Cosworth V-12 engine—a unit capable of revving to a dizzying 11,000 rpm—performance is simply astounding.
Aston Martin calculated that the model would be able to complete one lap of the 24 Hours of Le Mans circuit in just 3 minutes 20 seconds, meaning it could easily keep up with the Hypercar class running at the famous race. Quite simply, this is as close as one can get to weapons-grade, top-tier motorsport in a vehicle available for purchase to the general public.
Aston Martin has stated that only 40 AMR Pros will be built, in addition to two factory prototypes—far fewer than the road-going 150 Valkyrie coupés and 85 Valkyrie Spiders—truly making this the connoisseur and collector’s choice. Since taking delivery of this Valkyrie AMR Pro last year, its first and only owner has driven the car twice; during the factory-assisted shakedown and delivery at Bahrain International Circuit, and one further private track day at the same track in November 2023 As such, it remains in excellent condition both inside and out, ready to be used at a number of circuits around the world.
Devoid of its weighty and complex electric hybrid system, the AMR Pro is the most focused and engaging of all Aston Martin Valkyries. Lighter and simpler than the road-going models, the AMR pro delivers a driving experience as close to professional motorsport as mere mortals can get, while, as the rarest and most extreme variant, the AMR will remain the most desirable, coveted, and collectible version of this landmark model.
Hammering this point home, the car’s performance at its shakedown at Bahrain International Circuit laid clear for all to see just how incredible the Valkyrie AMR Pro is compared to literally any other race or road car in existence. At the 2022 8 Hours of Bahrain, also held at the Bahrain International Circuit, the race-winning Toyota GR010 Hybrid ran a best lap of 1:50.125. This very Valkyrie AMR Pro was comfortably running lap times of 1:48 on the exact same circuit.
The opportunity to acquire this single-owner example affords its next custodian the ability to slide into the driver’s seat in the hypercar of tomorrow, today.
