Ahead of its world debut at the 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed, the Aston Martin Valiant has been unveiled. It’s an even more track-focused and more limited take on the spectacular Aston Martin Valour launched last year, developed in conjunction with Fernando Alonso no less - that's the Spanish F1 driver racing for the Aston Martin team, in case you don’t follow the sport.
Just tell us about the Valiant
The core recipe is the same as the Valour’s, where a front-mounted V12 engine sends power to the rear wheels via a six-speed manual gearbox. The Valiant is also still road-legal, but everything has been enhanced to make it even more capable and thrilling on a track. It’s lighter, more powerful and fitted with sophisticated Adaptive Spool Valve dampers from the motorsport experts at Multimatic.
The 5.2-litre, twin-turbocharged petrol engine now produces up to 745hp (a modest increase of 30hp), with the same peak torque figure of 753Nm as in the Valour. Aston Martin hasn’t told us how fast either car accelerates, but “very” should cover it, especially as the Valiant has been subjected to a program of weight reduction including a small motor sport battery, 3D-printed rear subframe and magnesium torque tube joining the rear-mounted gearbox to the engine.
Magnesium is used in the 21-inch wheels, too, though they’re enclosed by carbon-fibre aero covers (with venting for the carbon-ceramic brakes) as part of a comprehensive suite of aerodynamic measures.
That explains the massive rear wing
Indeed, and it’s balanced by a large diffuser below the rear lights and a jutting splitter up front underneath what appears to be more grille than car. The complex sculpting of the sides of the Valiant clearly play their part, too, and the rear is actually one large clamshell. You won’t have missed the four exhaust outlets, either. There’s a hinged panel hiding a storage area behind the louvred rear where Aston suggests you might store your helmets and race clothing.
Back in the main cabin, the Valiant has a stripped-out vibe, but not completely, as it’s still as Aston Martin. We love the exposed linkage for the manual gearbox and the perfectly-round, Alcantara-trimmed steering wheel, while the expensive-looking seats are Recaro Podium items. Four-point harnesses can be added and mounted to the half-cage behind. Buyers can choose from a variety of materials and colours throughout of course as the Valiant is a product of the “Q by Aston Martin” division.
Go on, how much?
We believe it will cost the equivalent of €2.4 million before taxes in Ireland, but that’s almost irrelevant as all 38 examples are spoken for - including one for Mr Alonso. He probably got a staff discount mind you.