By way of comparison, Cosworth’s 3.0 litre
V10 F1TM engines (the last before weight
limits were imposed by the FIA) weighed
97Kg. If scaled-up to 6.5 litres this pure race
engine would weigh 210kg.
One of the best examples of the
painstaking optimisation involved is the
billet machined crankshaft. Starting life
as a solid steel bar 170mm diameter and
775mm long, it is first roughed out, then
heat treated, finish machined, heat treated
again, gear ground, final ground and
superfinished. Upon completion 80% of the
original bar has been machined away and
some six months have passed, but the end
product is a crankshaft that’s an astonishing
50 per cent lighter than that used in
the Aston Martin One-77’s V12 - itself a
Cosworth-developed evolution of Aston
Martin’s series production V12 and, for a
time, the world’s most powerful naturally
aspirated road car engine.
Bruce Wood, Cosworth Managing Director,
said of the project: “Being asked to create a
naturally aspirated V12 engine fit for what
will surely be one of the most iconic cars of
all time is an immense source of pride for
Cosworth. Decades in F1TM taught us to
expect a pretty demanding specification
from someone with Adrian Newey’s
unsurpassed track record, but when we
started talking about specifics of power,
weight, emissions compliance and
durability combined with ever harder and
sometimes conflicting targets, we knew
this would be a challenge like no other. It’s
been a fantastic partnership between Aston
Martin, Red Bull and Cosworth with each
party bringing a distinct clarity of vision
that has proved essential in delivering an
internal combustion engine way beyond
anything previously seen in a road car
application.”
Dr. Andy Palmer, Aston Martin Lagonda
President and Group Chief Executive Officer,
said of the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s V12
engine: “To anyone with a drop of petrol
in their blood, a high-revving naturally
aspirated V12 is the absolute pinnacle.
Nothing sounds better or encapsulates the
emotion and excitement of the internal
combustion engine more completely.
Despite the apparently insurmountable
challenges it presented, there was never
any question that the Aston Martin
Valkyrie would make do with anything
less. From the outset the team at Cosworth
were unflinching in their commitment to
achieving benchmarks which pushed the
boundaries of the possible. The result is a
quite extraordinary engine. One which I
doubt will ever be surpassed.”
Evoking the spine-tingling, ultra-high-
revving F1TM engines of the 1990s, but
benefitting from two decades of progress
in design, material and manufacturing
expertise, the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s
1000bhp V12 is a masterpiece, from one of
the world’s most illustrious engine builders:
an internal combustion engine without
peer for a hypercar without precedent.
www.astonmartin.com/en-gb
Issue 37 PECM
59