Simply Abu Dhabi XXVII

2 0 4 S I M P LY A B U DH A B I seven-speed paddle shift transmission built by Ricardo, so it should have a similar feel to the McLaren P1’s box. With a price of around $3.2 million, Aston Martin expects to sell 150 road cars with a further 25 track- only editions which, other than the six-point harness, will include a number of other non-roadworthy, performance enhancing features and extra safety measures that are yet to be announced. Likewise with performance, the company is keeping its numbers close to its chest, only saying that the Valkyrie will be the fastest car in the world – so you can expect it will be below two seconds to 100km/h and six seconds to 200km/h and have a top speed of above 420km/h if it wants to surpass the current terminal velocity king: the W16, quad turbocharged Bugatti Chiron. But what you see here may still change according to AstonMartin’s Creative Director of Exterior Design Miles Nurnberger. “Much of what you see is actually the structure of the car, so this had to be signed-off relatively early in the project. The remaining areas of non-structural bodywork are still subject to evolution and change as Adrian Newey continues to explore ways of finding more downforce. But I would say we’re around 95% of the way there with the exterior design,” he said. That’s the thing when you start working with F1 guys: they never know when to stop developing.