Vanquish: Aston Martin’s Ferrari
APRIL 2019 | CARMAGAZINE.CO.UK 73BMW’s innovative i programme, and thereafter the hybrid LaFerrari and
the laying down of Ferrari’s current and widely lauded front- and mid-
engined platforms (effectively the astonishing 812 Superfast and 488 GTB).
Then there’s test driver Chris Goodwin, who arrived from McLaren just
over a year ago with a sparkling hypercar development CV, including the
McLaren P1 and Senna.
‘The new V6, that’s all us,’ says Palmer proudly, adding that it has nothing
whatsoever to do with Aston’s German allies in Affalterbach, AMG. ‘Just
over a year ago we recruited Joerg Ross [ex-Ferrari, ex-Maserati, into the
role of head of powertrains]. He’s a wizard on the engine side and this new
turbo V6 is his baby. It’s a performance hybrid, not a plug-in. The two tech-
nologies complement each other; they’re at their best in different spheres.
Turbocharging brings with it lag but the electric motor gives instantaneous
torque, so the two technologies meld really well. And we’re getting a lot of
power from the capacity – it’s an impressive specific output.’
For reference, Honda’s NSX uses a 3.5-litre twin-turbo V6 with hybrid
assistance to bang out 573bhp and 477lb ft. Perhaps more impressively, the
non-hybrid Ford GT develops 647bhp from its 3.5-litre turbo V6. Aston’s
powertrain will need to target at least 720bhp given the 710bhp McLaren
720S and Ferrari F8 Tributo are benchmarked.
Exciting though this hybrid engine is as a standalone proposition – An
F1-inspired powertrain! In a mid-engined Aston! Like a mini P1! – Szwaj
is at pains to point out that, given its less than boundless R&D budget,
nothing Aston Martin does can be a one-shot. This hybrid is as much about
future-proofing Aston Martin in the long term as it is building a Ferrari
beater right now.
‘Cars like the P1 and the LaFerrari were laboratories to develop hybrid
technology,’ explains Szwaj. ‘This technology is maturing. It’s still expen-
sive but you don’t need to spend huge amounts of money, and we need this
technology to meet the emissions challenge. There is a lot of uncertainty.
We must design something that will excite and be socially responsible at
the same time.’ ⊲CREATIVE TENSION
‘Working with Adrian Newey
gave rise to this really interesting
creative tension,’ smiles Reichman.
‘I think we’d all agree creating
Valkyrie was painful as hell, but
it was painful because we were
creating something truly unique- it won’t be repeated, and the
genesis of this car is in that one.
All of that learning and knowledge - that tension between design
and aerodynamics – is in this car.
Nothing on Valkyrie was the first
answer; it was the sixth or seventh.
We’ve pulled all of that blood,
sweat and tears into this car.’
MORE BEAUTY PLEASE
‘Valkyrie was driven almost
exclusively by aero, with
something of the fluidity and
beauty of an Aston,' says
Reichman. 'Valkyrie’s cabin is
minimal and very extreme for
example, to minimise frontal area.
On this car we could design in
more beauty. You read Valkyrie
in there but it’s less extreme. A lot
of the aero work is done by the
front of the car, the splitter, and the
rear diffusers – on Valkyrie every
surface works hard to generate
enormous downforce.’