Aston Martin Valkyrie: a gift from the gods

The revolutionary hypercar being co-developed by Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, formerly identified by its codename AM-RB 001, has now been officially named the Aston Martin Valkyrie.

Joins Valkyrie joins the famous lineage of Aston Martin ‘V’ cars stretching back seven decades, including the Virage, Vulcan and Vanquish.

The naming convention began in 1951 with Vantage, which was selected to distinguish high performance variants of the then current model, the DB2. The first time the Vantage badge appeared was on the side of the DB5.

In Norse mythology “The Valkyrie” is a literal translation of “Chooser of the slain” – female figures who select who may live and who may die in battle. The Valkyrie then bring half of those slain on the battlefield to Valhalla – the afterlife governed by Odin, Ruler of the Gods.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie, which is not expected to go into limited production until 2018, boasts a 1:1 power-to-weight ratio and is powered by a mid-mounted Cosworth 6.5-litre V12 engine expected to produce 900bhp.