The gentleman sitting next to me in the helicopter is monitoring both the pilot’s flight path and the weather from an app on his phone. But evaluating data, plotting the optimal course, and navigating it successfully is second nature to fellow passenger Adrian Hallmark, Aston Martin’s new C.E.O. As we approach Circuito de Navarra, about 40 miles outside Pamplona, not even the din of the rotors can drown out the cacophony of anticipation in my head. Waiting below, after all, is a 2.6-mile racecourse and the British automaker’s 1,064 hp Valhalla.
Starting at about $1.05 million and limited to 999 examples, the new flagship of Aston’s renaissance is also its most technically advanced production model to date—a fact that becomes clear the moment you slip into the cockpit. The low-slung seating position, with heels nearly aligned to hips, takes its cue from motorsport, while the driver’s view is framed by prominent wheel arches that seem to sit at chest level. Yet Aston’s talent for high-touch interior refinement remains intact. (Though I find the lack of analog instrumentation a misstep.)
More from Robb Report
What’s less traditional is the profuse hybrid output, channeled through four drive modes—EV, Sport, Sport+, and Race. Of the last, Hallmark tells Robb Report, “If you put it in Race mode the whole time, you could technically never charge the car with the plug-in, because it captures so much energy.” The bulk of the muscle comes from an 817 hp 4.0-liter flat-plane-crank twin-turbo V-8 paired with two independent electric motors at the front wheels and a third in the gearbox of the eight-speed dual-clutch transmission. Juiced by a 6.1 kWh battery, each of the three can spin at nearly 19,000 rpm.
The combined power delivery is evenly doled out on Navarra’s main straight, as the 3,648-pound (dry weight) supercar dispatches zero to 62 mph in a claimed 2.5 seconds, running out of room before coming anywhere close to its electronically limited top speed of 217 mph. Central to the carbon-fiber outlier’s performance is its sculpted shape and active aerodynamics—including a deployable rear wing that contributes to the more than 1,322 pounds of total downforce, and a Formula 1–derived drag reduction system (DRS). And while a bit of turbo lag is perceptible when getting back on the throttle after a hairpin, it’s momentary.
So, too, is the time it takes the brake-by-wire system to scrub speed, thanks to carbon-ceramic stoppers acting on forged-alloy wheels dressed in custom Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires. (Michelin Pilot Sport S 5 AML summer tires were used on the road.) That grip is reinforced by a litany of electronic nannies, all of which translate to an assuring sense of control and eagerness to discover more of the Valhalla’s powerfully balletic nature.
Where Aston’s mid-engine milestone distances itself from its 1,139 hp Valkyrie sibling is in its ability to display a more genteel demeanor in public. In Sport mode, the marque’s latest benchmark in aesthetics, athleticism, and approachability begins to feel almost like a grand tourer, with a suspension unexpectedly cossetting. And as the Valhalla caresses the road at speed, it competes with the stunning landscape itself for anyone fortunate enough to catch sight of it.
Interestingly, the Basque country and the brand share a certain common ground: a legacy of beauty and a strong cultural identity, each shaped by periods of tumult—whether it’s the region’s long fight for independence or Aston Martin’s ongoing struggle for financial autonomy. From behind the wheel of the Valhalla, though, it seems both have redefined themselves brilliantly.
Best of Robb Report
Sign up for RobbReports’s Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.