Aston Martin claims the new Valkyrie Spider is the closest you can get to experiencing an F1 car on the road – without borrowing Sebastian Vettel’s AMR21 and breaking the law.
Unveiled overnight at the Monterey Car Week in California the Valkyrie Spider is the latest creation from the partnership between the British sports car brand and Red Bull Racing’s chief technical officer, Adrian Newey. While it may appear as simple as cutting the roof off what is meant to be the world’s fastest car, for man with such a renowned sense of aerodynamic perfectionism as Newey, creating the Valkyrie Spider was actually a complex challenge.
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As Newey explained: “Right from the very beginning of the Aston Martin Valkyrie project we were driven by exacting targets that went way beyond any previous road car and the Valkyrie Spider brings that same ethos to the open cockpit hypercar category. What you see is a simple removable roof panel, but the challenge of remaining true to the Valkyrie concept was anything but. Maintaining aerodynamic performance with the roof removed was of paramount importance, likewise keeping any unavoidable weight gains to an absolute minimum whilst maximising enjoyment for the driver.”
The Valkyrie Spider is powered by the same V12 hybrid powertrain as the coupe, with a bespoke Cosworth-designed engine paired with a Rimac-built electric motor to make 865kW of power (that’s 1160hp).
READ MORE: Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro detailed
To create the removable roof Aston Martin had to modify the central monocoque design and introduce new doors – front-hinged dihedral doors instead of the gullwings used on the coupe. Aston Martin claims the Spider is capable of hitting 350km/h with the roof on, but still manages 330km/h with the roof off.
Aston Martin CEO, Tobias Moers, believes while not as fast with the roof off the Valkyrie Spider will provide an experience like no other road car.
“The Aston Martin Valkyrie is the product of incredible innovation and technology, but above all it has always been about emotion,” Moers said. “With the Valkyrie Spider we are taking that passion and emotion to the next level. The driving experience promises to be truly sensational. The sound of that 6.5-litre V12 engine revving to over 11,000rpm with the roof removed is something I cannot wait to hear.”
The other major benefit for the brand is the ability to keep customers who missed out on one of the original Valkyrie happy. Aston Martin had originally only committed to building 150 Valkyrie and 25 of the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro, but the Spider will expand the production run by another 85 cars. Although Aston Martin admits demand already out-strips supply so only a lucky few will get to experience this F1-inspired convertible.
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