Simply Abu Dhabi XXVII

2 0 2 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I Externally, a key styling point of the Valkyrie are the huge, full length venturi tunnels that run either side of the cockpit, drawing enormous quantities of air beneath the car to feed the rear diffuser. These are paramount to generating the Aston’s extraordinary 1800kg of downforce while keeping the upper body surfaces free from aerodynamic devices that would spoil its clean lines. It also forces the driver to adopt a slightly F1-style of driving position with feet perched in the air in a semi reclined position. The owner visits the factory for a seat fitting and gets a laser 3D scanned seat suited to their shape which is then bolted directly to the floor, and they are held in with a four-point safety harness. A six-point race harness is offered as an option for those who intend to do more track driving. Which reminds us that unlike the Aston Martin Vulcan, this has been intended from day one to be a car for the street. Itis roadworthy in every market it’s sold including the US despite its removable steering wheel and the absence of a conventional dashboard. All the important instruments come up as a display on the steering wheel while the less important information is illustrated on a small LCD screen. Two other smaller screens located at the base of each A-pillar show the rear view from two external cameras that replace the regular door mirrors for extra aero efficiency. “It’s been a tremendous challenge to make the interior packaging work,” Aston Martin’s Creative Director of Interiors Matt Hill said. “We’ve embraced Red Bull Racing’s Formula One ethos and approached it from a different angle than conventional road car design. In this case, we started from a position where we thought something was impossible and worked at it until we found a way. We’ve been fighting for millimetres everywhere. “Our customers have loved the ritual of getting in and seeing how it feels behind the wheel. They’re also genuinely surprised at how the car just seems to swallow them. You really do have to sit in it to believe there is genuine space for two large adults,” he added. While the initial target was to achieve 1000bhp from its normally aspirated 6.5-litre V12 with a KERS-style hybrid system, Aston now says it’s sitting at 1130bhp and it weighs just 1030kg whichmakes it as powerful as a Bugatti Veyron but as light as a Toyota Yaris. To get this ridiculously low figure, the team looked at every possible area to shave weight; for example, the front badge is just 70 microns thick or about 30% as thick as a human hair, and 99.4% lighter than the regular Aston Martin badge. The exhausts exit through the top similar to the Porsche 918 Spyder, and the engine runs through a