The road-going version of Aston Martin’s upcoming Valkyrie hypercar will feature a hybrid drivetrain, but that won’t be the case for the racing version of the car that’s set to compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship’s new hypercar class.
Aston Martin revealed that the racing version of the Valkyrie would be strictly gasoline powered in a Monday interview with Sportscar 365. The reasoning for going sans electric assist in the race car? The Valkyrie’s 6.5-liter V-12 engine is simply so powerful that it wouldn’t benefit from the added boost of a hybrid drivetrain.
In fact, Aston Martin is planning to detune the V-12 engine in the Valkyrie race car. While the road version of the Valkyrie will produce 1,000 horsepower from its naturally aspirated V-12, the race car will be capped at 750 hp.
“A combination of the electric and internal combustion engine power has to add up to a certain amount and we’ve got a massive V-12 engine that we’re going to detune to make it suitable for racing,” David King, head of Aston Martin’s racing arm, said. “The road car does have some hybrid elements to it. The race car won’t.”
Although the Valkyrie race car won’t lack for power without a hybrid drivetrain, it might struggle to find traction in slippery conditions. The Valkyrie’s hybrid system consists of an electric motor at the front axle, giving the car all-wheel drive. Without the hybrid unit, the Valkyrie race car will be rear-drive only.
Meanwhile, Aston Martin’s rivals in the new hypercar class, the Glickenhaus 007 and Toyota GR Super Sport concept, will use some form of hybrid power. It remains to be seen if that’ll be an advantage on the racetrack.