Aston Martin confirms 2025 Le Mans entry with Valkyrie racer

The firm remained tight-lipped on who will be piloting the racers, however, and said a selection process will begin next week. The driver line-up will not include the firm's current Formula 1 drivers.

Testing will begin next year, before the car starts its racing career in January 2025.

Being based on the AMR Pro, it will not feature the road car's hybrid propulsion drivetrain, and it will have a total power output capped at 670bhp, in line with LMh balance of performance regulations.

Being run in partnership with US-based sports car squad Heart of Racing, which currently competes in the GT class of sports car racing, the Valkyrie will compete in the Le Mans 24 Hours, Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, making Aston Martin the only manufacturer competing at all levels of sports car and GT racing, as well as Formula 1.

The development of the racing Valkyrie will be informed by the brand's "complex knowledge base" that it has built up in its involvement in Formula 1, which, Stroll says, will eventually trickle down to its road cars.

The prototype, currently undergoing testing at Silverstone, will use an endurance-optimised and detuned version of the 6.5-litre, naturally aspirated, 11,500rpm Cosworth V12 fitted to the road-going Valkyrie.

It is underpinned by a chassis made entirely from carbonfibre and will be the first car on the endurance grid to be based on an existing production car - the Valkyrie. 

Aston Martin Performance Technologies engineering director Adam Carter said: “Valkyrie takes us back into the top tier of sports car racing and, together with our partners, we are absolutely confident that we can deliver a race car with the potential and the performance capabilities to fight alongside the benchmark machinery in the class."

The endurance-bred Valkyrie will be made lighter than the 1500kg AMR Pro, with a significant emphasis put on making it as aerodynamic as possible while managing the amount of downforce it produces. 

When asked about the future of the Valkyrie's Cosworth-developed V12, Carter said: "You can never say never but, at the moment, there is nothing else on the horizon." The engine was developed specifically for the Le Mans Valkyrie and is not found in any of Aston's road cars. According to Carter, this gives the team a competitive edge.

He added that the development of the hypercar will be a strong influence on the firm's electric vehicles programme as it moves away from combustion cars, particularly with reference to keeping weight down and long-term durability up.

Notably, he said one of the main reasons the firm takes part in motorsport, particularly endurance racing, is to create a "synergy" between being a luxury brand and one with racing pedigree.