Aston Martin’s million-dollar, 1,064-hp hyper supercar is a drama-free rocket ship that leaves you questioning reality.
’s nearly $1.1 million, 1,064-horsepower Valhalla. But this decades-long auto publication tradition of reviewing supercars, perhaps always somewhat of a frivolous endeavor, has in relatively recent times taken an even more acute turn into the surreal.
So much so that when at least four different friends/colleagues asked me that question the day after a drive of the 2026 Aston Martin Valhalla, I hesitated briefly before replying with some version of, “Er, exactly how you expect it be.” I recognized almost immediately that while this wasn’t meant to be whatsoever flippant, it only makes any iota of sense if you’ve been fortunate enough to experience the state of the supercar art for yourself here in the once inconceivable 2020s.Seven years weirdly feels like more than a lifetime ago, no doubt exacerbated by the mind-screw of the isolated pandemic years that, for many, caused time to cease being linear. But that’s how long it’s been since the 2019 Geneva Motor Show where Aston first presented what was. That original name, which has since changed to one from Norse mythology , was a reflection of the automaker’s then-sponsorship ties to the Red Bull Racing Formula 1 team. A lot has changed since, and not just the name. Aston and Red Bull cut ties following the 2020 F1 season after the former’s then-new boss Lawrence Stroll binned his Racing Point F1 team’s name in favor of branding it as the famous British marque. More importantly, the automotive landscape was evolving quickly, as was Aston. There was seemingly chaotic turnover within the internal ranks, and the Valhalla’s hybrid powertrain—first planned as an in-house-designed turbocharged 3.0-liter V-6 with performance to match certain other, then-more-relevant hybrid hypercars like the LaFerrari and Porsche 918 Spyder—became a hybridized Mercedes-AMG-derived twin-turbo V-8.in August 2022, giggling at the Valhalla’s F1-inspired reclined seating position, the projected specs for the V-8-based powertrain had jumped from a combined 937 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque to 1,012 hp and an undisclosed torque figure. None of this was finalized, Aston said, but it was all more than enough to cause me to say, “Please, I want to drive it, whenever it’s ready.”Based on what was said at that time about the Valhalla’s development cycle, I didn’t think another three and a half years would pass before I got the chance, but the production version’s hardware exceeds all those earlier expectations.The flat-plane-crank, dry-sump, twin-turbo 4.0-liter V-8 makes 817 hp; combined with a total of 248 hp provided by two Aston-designed radial-flux permanent-magnet motors on the front axle and a third mounted to and working inside the new eight-speed dual-clutch gearbox , peak outputs are 1,064 hp and 811 lb-ft. Along with the motors, the hybrid system is comprised of a 560-cell battery pack kept cool by immersing the cells completely in dielectric oil. The simplified upshot of the latter is, as chief engineer Andrew Kay told us, “We’re able to push energy into the battery and cycle it out very quickly . This is very good for track use, in particular.” Unlike the original Valhalla concept and its Valkyrie big brother, the production model is also a plug-in hybrid, capable of driving the car in EV-only mode for up to 8.7 miles and an 80-mph top speed. For a deeper dive into the tech, you canÜber-nerdy/semi-pedantic readers may have already taken umbrage to the earlier use of the term “supercar,” but the company itself refers to the Valhalla as its first-ever mid-engine supercar. Surely, though, it’s a hypercar? Yes, except for, which apparently means marketing descriptions and talking points about “first ever” achievements are painted into a corner wherein “supercar” is the preferred noun. Whatever. The Valkyrie is barely a street car; its $3-plus million starting price tag and production run of 285 examples makes the Valhalla’s million-and-change MSRP and 999-unit inventory seem relatively pedestrian.That’s an absurd statement in the real world, of course, but it speaks to something bigger in the realm of modern high-performance automobiles, in terms of both price and capability. Perhaps the car enthusiasts among millennials, zoomers, and Gen Alpha are long accustomed to yet another new million-dollar car populating their social media feeds on a seemingly monthly if not weekly basis. Each one spits out once unheard-of power and torque figures, acceleration and lap times, and a list of tech specs, features, options, and bespoke luxury choices that’s longer than the Nürburgring’s full endurance layout. But for people who are a bit older but hardly AARP members, it’s easy to recall the shockwave dealt by something like the 627-hp, $800,000-ish McLaren F1 back in 1993–’94. Or even more so the Bugatti Veyron a mere 20 years ago, the car generally considered to be the first million-dollar, 1,000-hp hypercar.that only has about half as much horsepower and overall “exotic” tech but brings so much racing-derived aerodynamics and other hardware to the fight that it requires pro-racer skills to maximize on a racetrack. Stepping up, to varying degrees, in price, construction, and tech war-chest levels,, even the more “run of the mill” Porsche 911 Turbo S, to name just a few. Hell, you can buywith 1,250 hp no one really saw coming back when the Valhalla was but a brilliant spark in Aston Martin’s and then-Red-Bull F1-design-God partner Adrian Newey’s collective eyes.Whether or not Teddy Roosevelt originated the proverb, it’s with all this in mind that “comparison is the thief of joy” has never been a more appropriate jumping-off point in hyperc ... ahem, supercar terms. It’s also coincidentally appropriate here because we know the odds of ever orchestrating a proper comparison test among the vehicles listed above, perhaps other than the ZR1X, are zero, thanks mostly to Maranello’s longtime aversion to supplying publications like this one with cars for head-to-head showdowns. No matter, because given how high the dynamic limits are, it’s a far more satisfying endeavor to drive something like the Valhalla on its own merits and for whatever experience it provides. Make no mistake; the overall experience matters in a car like this. It’s no longer good enough to be pleasant and thrilling on the road but crap on the racetrack, or mesmerizing on the track, but a chiropractor’s billable-hours wet dream on the road. We already knew this Aston Martin was a winner on all fronts afterUnlike Angus, who only drove the Valhalla on the Silverstone Circuit’s short Stowe layout in the U.K., Aston gave us a 50-minute road loop to begin with this time around. You might naturally look at the car’s pseudo Le Mans Hypercar appearance and low, wide stance and indeed expect a compromised daily driver, but that’s not the case at all. At least, other than the utter lack of luggage storage; there are some small cubbies in the door cards but no frunk due to that potential cargo space being eaten up by three high-temp radiators, the electric motors, and a racing-style, pushrod-actuated horizontally mounted inboard suspension layout. Aston executed the latter solution in part because of the F1-style driving position; you sit so low that a conventional suspension would have raised the bodywork’s height too much to maintain a clear sightline ahead. There’s no backrest angle adjustment, so you must adapt to the seating position, and the seats are bolted so low into the carbon-fiber monocoque tub that there’s no motor beneath them to slide yourself forward and back. Instead, you pull a leather strap between your legs to make those adjustments.You get used to the driving position quickly—it really isn’t that extreme—and you realize within two miles that the Valhalla-specific Bilstein DTX active damper system and overall suspension setup make for a dang comfortable megacar of this variety. The Spanish road route we drove was hardly a rough one, but neither was it infinitely smooth and perfect, yet there wasn’t a wide gap between the suspension’s Sport and Sport+ settings—a welcome, usable trait we’ve. Race mode introduces a harsher ride you’d probably grow tired of, but you can absolutely live with it, too, especially on a well-maintained, fast sweeping road when it’s playtime. The square-ish steering wheel feels mostly nice to use, but the molded-in crease/edge that runs vertically up the backside where your fingers naturally bend around to help give you a more-positive grip than does a rounded surface might not be the most comfortable for everyone. The steering feel itself is intuitive, maintaining a lovely weight that’s neither too light nor heavy across various drive modes. When I came across a long, wide-open stretch of country road with no one in sight, I brought the car to a stop, stood on the brake and throttle pedals, and launch-controlled the Valhalla as hard as it would go. Other than an initial slight wiggle from the rear as the tires looked to hook up completely, it was simply a matter of. Aston says 0–62 mph happens in 2.5 seconds, so figure on a 0–60 run of 2.4, maybe 2.3. The speed is no more or less shocking than it is in other similar cars, but an impressively flat torque curve means 90 percent of the peak 811 lb-ft is available from 2,500 rpm all the way to the power peak that arrives at 6,700 rpm. It just never lets up. If there’s a relative disappointment that supercar/hypercar aficionados and owners might point to, it’s the lack of ultra-high revs this powertrain produces with its redline set to 7,000 rpm. Then there’s the concert itself, a multifaceted mix of electric motors, turbos, induction, and exhaust. In totality, it’s loudish without being over the top, which is satisfying when your right foot opens the floodgates, but it’s unlikely anyone is ever going to include this on a list of best-sounding engines for the ages—there’s just a lot going on.There’s even more in play on the track, in this case Spain’s Circuito de Navarra, a 2.7-mile medium-speed road course with a nice blend of corners, braking zones, and some elevation change. This closed environment, much more so than the open road, reveals the power of the Aston Martin Valhalla’s trick torque vectoring, aerodynamics, and monster braking system. You want to run the car in Race mode, not because it’s named as such and because you’re on a racetrack, but because of how the hybrid system operates. In Sport+ on the road, because drivers aren’t usually asking for full power in big long bursts, this mode dumps a huge amount of electric boost to the wheels, draining the battery at a quick rate that the brake-by-wire system then recovers so you’re ready to go again the next time.However, on a track when you’re constantly pressing the throttle as quickly, hard, and often as possible, Race mode meters the electric assist via a recharge strategy that holds back up to 15 percent state of charge to protect you from ever running out and thus having to rely solely on the combustion engine. According to Kay, this results in a typical total loss of 15–20 hp, perhaps a maximum of 30, simply to prevent the battery from ever getting to zero charge. “In Sport+ on a track, you will get more noticeable reduced performance after a lap or two because it will start reining it in because it derates , but Race mode never does that—it’s overall the most efficient and usable,” he said.That matches what I experienced across a couple lapping sessions, and it’s beyond welcome to have a mode like this one that takes care of everything for you so you can concentrate on driving the car without needing to fiddle around with buttons or contemplating the best driving strategy like F1 drivers are presently compelled to do. As Angus reported after his previous drive, the Valhalla, for all its capability, feels as benign as a Vantage if you’re a reasonably experienced driver. The one thing he suspected but couldn’t confirm was if the car’s performance on the tighter Silverstone Stowe track would be the same on a faster, flowing circuit. But he was correct—the Valhalla takes whatever you throw at it and asks for more, thanks to its hugely stable platform that never feels like it’s about to drop-kick you off into the weeds. The handling is so rewarding that drivers looking for a big-drama circus filled with traction breaks and huge sideways moments might want to look at cheaper, more conventional alternatives like the front-engine, rear-drive Vantage. The Valhalla will dance sideways if you make it do so, but the front-axle torque vectoring and rear e-differential really want to keep the chassis rotating into and pulling out of corners with minimal fuss, enticing the driver to push harder and harder while maintaining their confidence in the car. When the lapping sessions were over, all I wished for was another hour or three on the track because I had just begun to feel like I knew both the track and car well enough to begin truly edging somewhere at least approaching the limit. In other words, there was no feeling of relief over having managed to drive a million-dollar, 1,064-hp machine reasonably quickly around a racetrack without stuffing it into the fence. Once upon a time, driving cars as fast as this and others like it felt like a survival exercise as much as anything, but that’s no longer the case. The active aero and braking system play huge roles in this. The latter gives you a beyond-satisfyingly firm brake pedal that never softens, thanks to a large amount of the actual braking being accomplished through battery regen. As with every brake-by-wire system I’ve so far encountered, the downside is a lack of granular feel compared to conventional hydraulic brakes; it’s not much of a deal when tuned well, it just feels different, especially if you expect to rely on old-school feedback to indicate when you’ve crossed the ABS threshold. You can forget about that, but more critically, the braking performance remains consistent, speed notwithstanding.Aerodynamically, the underbody front wing and deployable monster rear wing adjust positions based on speed and dynamic conditions. Look under the car and you can see the former resembles an F1 front wing, and yes, Aston Martin Performance Technologies, a division of the F1 team, worked with the Valhalla’s engineers here. As for the rear wing, it also provides an air-brake function when you stomp on the left pedal. In general, it only raises fully in Race mode, and while you can activate that mode on the street, know it entirely blocks the rearview camera, meaning you have no idea what’s behind you. Note to cars and coffee peacockers: In a bit of nonsensical bureaucracy, you can’t raise the rear wing with the car turned off, thanks to silly-worded crash regulations intended to prevent its use on the street. Aston may or may not be searching for a workaround following feedback from nearly “everyone who has been around the car.”Wisely, rather than chasing a headline peak number, the engineers sought a setup that provides stable, consistent downforce without a shifting center of pressure, something race teams aim to achieve for balance and stability. To that end, the approximately 3,850-pound Valhalla makes 935 pounds of combined front/rear downforce at 124 mph, and a maximum of 1,345 pounds of combined front/rear downforce beginning at 149 mph—and it stays the same all the way to the car’s top speed of 217 mph. As with the brakes, the result is consistent, predictable behavior for the driver, aided by the torque-vectoring system that likewise functions to deliver the same feel across the entire potential speed range.There’s so much to unpack with modern cars like this that despite all the above words, there’s plenty more going on beneath the surface. Even chief engineer Kay acknowledged over dinner that it’s practically impossible to delve into it all outside of writing a full book on the subject. Even when you know all this, and even when you’ve driven other examples of contemporary supercars and hypercars, you still need to experience the latest one to confirm it hits the mark. This one more than does, on racetracks and on public roads. So, in retrospect, responding to the question with something like, “Exactly how you expect it to be,” does the Valhalla and automobiles like it—even ones that, on paper, appear to occupy a rung below—a great disservice. A better, entirely literal answer is, “Not long ago you wouldn’t ever have believed it.”Get the newest car reviews, hottest auto news, and expert analysis of the latest trends delivered straight to your inbox!I’m not sure if this is bizarre, amusing, interesting, or none of those, but I remember picking up the inaugural issue of Automobile from the magazine rack at a Meijer grocery store in metro Detroit. At 9 years old in 1986, I was already a devoted consumer of car magazines, and this new one with the funky font on the cover caught my eye immediately. Longtime Automobile editor and present-day contributor Michael Jordan despises this story, but I once used his original review of Ferrari’s F40 as source material for a fifth-grade research project. I still have the handwritten report on a shelf at home. Sometimes I text MJ pictures of it — just to brighten his day. I’ve always been a car fan, but I never had any grand dreams, schemes, or plans of making it onto this publication’s masthead. I did earn a journalism degree from Michigan State University but at the time never planned to use it for its intended purpose. Law school made more sense to me for some reason. And then, thankfully, it didn’t. I blame two dates for this: May 1 and May 29, 1994. The former was the day Formula 1 star Ayrton Senna died. As a kid, I’d seen him race years earlier on the streets of Detroit, and though I didn’t follow F1 especially closely, the news of his demise shocked me. It’s the only story I remember following in the ensuing weeks, which just happened to lead right into the latter date. By pure chance, I had earlier accepted a friend’s invitation to accompany him and his father to the Indy 500. You’ve probably heard people say nothing prepares you for the sight of Indianapolis Motor Speedway, especially in real life on race day, with more than 250,000 spectators on the ground. It sounds like clichéd hyperbole, but it’s true. And along with my renewed interest in F1 in the wake of Senna’s death, that first encounter with Indy ignited a passion for motorsports I never expected to find. Without charting the entire course here, the upshot is that it led me to a brief stint working at a racing school, and then to Autoweek, where I worked as a full-time staffer for 13 years, the majority of them as motorsports editor. I was also a tester and reviewer of road cars, a fleet manager, and just about everything in between that is commonplace at automotive enthusiast outlets. Eventually, my work there led me to Automobile in early 2015 — almost 29 years to the day that I first picked up that funky new car mag as my mom checked-off her grocery list. What else do you probably not want to know? I — along with three other people, I’m told frequently — am an avid NBA fan, evidenced by a disturbingly large number of Nikes taking up almost all of my closet space. I enjoy racing/driving video games and simulators, though for me they’ll never replace the real thing. Road cars are cool, race cars are better. I’ve seen the original “Point Break” at least 147 times start to finish. I’ve seen “Top Gun” even more. The millennials on our staff think my favorite decade is the ’80s. They’re wrong. It’s the ’90s. I always have too many books to read and no time to do so. Despite the present histrionics, I do not believe fully autonomous cars will dominate our roads any time soon, probably not for decades. I used to think anyone who didn’t drive a manual transmission wasn’t a real driver, but I was wrong. I wish I could disinvent social media, or at least somehow ensure it is used only for good. And I appreciate being part of Automobile’s proud history, enjoying the ride alongside all of you.
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