Aston Martin Valen is 'provocative' 850hp supercar
Forget about manual gearboxes, says Aston, as it goes all-in on 214mph Brit bomber
At this stage, one wonders how many ‘V’ names Aston Martin has left to choose from. Valen, derived from the Latin word ‘valens’ - which effectively means ‘strong’ - suggests that it having to work a little harder than simply looking up old RAF bombers on Wikipedia. But one does not wonder about the theme encapsulated by the car underneath: this is not just the most powerful front-engined Aston in the manufacturer’s 113-year history, it’s also claimed to be the world’s most powerful front-engined production car, period.
While that statement might be disputed by a number of firms offering increasingly preposterous versions of the Ford Mustang, what Aston really means is that the 850hp it has coaxed from its 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 exceeds the 830hp output you get from the current Ferrari 12Cilindri. Strong indeed. And crucial too, if we’re willing to accept that bragging rights remain a defining aspect of the ultra high-end market - a market, of course, that Monterey Car Week is dedicated to serving.
That explains the decision to reveal the Valen at Pebble Beach (albeit after providing European journalists with a sneak peek at Gaydon last month), and its importance to Aston’s bottom line is underscore by the creation of a new department: Special Vehicle Operations, or SVO. This relieves Q by Aston Martin of some of its engineering duties, leaving it to focus on the business of personalisation. From now on, it will be SVO’s job to build on the legacy of the Valour and Valiant, both evolutionary versions of the one-off Victor it revealed back in 2020.
Six years later and the vibe remains very much the same - this, clearly, is meant as a hard-charging, musclebound Aston, one differentiated from the super-GT character of the V12-powered Vanquish, even while it shares the same extruded aluminium architecture and footprint. Previously it was the presence of a manual ‘box that provided its predecessor’s with a unique USP, making the decision to revert to the eight-speed ZF torque converter a slightly contentious one - especially in light of the new, open-gated 12Cilindri Manuale.
Somewhat counter-intuitively, Aston suggested to PH that there was feeling internally that the new automatic, updated with the ‘race-proven shift strategies’ used in the Vantage GT4, would help to distinguish the Valen from the Valour, and that ‘it had done a manual’. Perhaps that makes sense for repeat buyers, many of whom will presumably feature among the 150 lucky souls due to take delivery of a Valen, although given the apparent appetite for three pedals at this level, you do wonder if a trick has been missed.
If it has, Aston can point to numerous others that have been comprehensively ticked off. Unsurprisingly, given criticisms levelled at the firm in previous years, ‘minimising a sense of carryover’ was close to the heart of the project, and it would be a brave soul who can claim to see much Vanquish in the Valen mix beyond its basic proportions. From the deeply recessed headlights in a front end now acutely interested in channeling air to the V12 behind it, to the saw-tooth vortex generators on the trailing edge of the vast, stepped sills, the car more than lives up the ‘provocative’ look Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichmann suggests they were aiming for.
And that’s before you get round the back to discover the solid tailgate, full-width light bar and an upswept tail functioning as a Gurney flap. The Valen is not predominately about aerodynamic performance, we were told - but it emphatically is about noise. That four-tailpipe titanium exhaust, fitted with ‘micro mufflers’, is bespoke to the new model and its layout is not just for show: the upper pair, ‘akin to organ pipes’ are said to always be open for greater resonance, but the valves on the bottom adjust their position based on drive mode. We’re told to expect the ‘ultimate emotive soundtrack’.
In the new 5.2-litre V12, it has a great starting point. There are minimal hardware changes, though with 738lb ft of torque available from 2,500rpm, there hardly needed to be. Instead, alongside modifications made to the Sport and Sport+ drive settings, particular attention has been paid to the throttle mapping, aimed at delivering a greater response earlier in the pedal travel. This is hardly a problem in the Vanquish, though interestingly the Track mode is claimed to be more progressive, for when ‘on-limit precision is the priority’.
While this doubtless contributes to the Valen’s targeted 3.0-second-to-60mph time, it is likely the attention paid to weight loss that really pays dividends. Versus the Vanquish, Aston quotes a saving of up to 110kg, thanks to carbon fibre bodywork, and increased use of aluminium, titanium and magnesium (the latter most notably in the new 21-inch wheels fitted as standard). That said, if you want the full hit of the fruit diet, you’ll need to option the lightweight pack that delivers machined aluminium suspension arms, knuckles and titanium chassis bolts, which saves you 16.9kg on its own.
Despite this level of specificity, at time of writing Aston had not yet arrived at an EU certified unladen mass figure - but whatever the number, the engineers have set about taking full advantage. As you’d expect, the objective was increased thrill factor, not to mention a heightened sense of connection with the road (or more so than in a GT anyway); accordingly, the Valen’s rear subframe is now solid mounted, and it gets model-specific suspension with helper springs to match, plus its own specification of Bilstein DTX semi-active dampers - all of it helped along considerably by the introduction of bespoke Pirelli P Zero R tyres.
The manufacturer reports a ‘unique dynamic signature’ from the resulting increase in lateral stiffness, but reckons it has not sacrificed the sort of compliance buyers still expect of Aston Martin. Nevertheless, in its efforts to make the Valen handle like a shorter car, it has paid additional attention to the steering calibration, and the brake booster it upgraded for superior precision when it comes to the job of modulating the enormous (410mm front; 360mm rear) carbon ceramic brakes. Factor in adjustments made to the ESP and traction control systems - no prizes for guessing the team’s approach to either, or the comparative liveliness of the electronically-controlled limited-slip rear diff - and you can see why Aston boss Adrian Hallmark believes ‘the dramatic design is backed by equally dramatic performance’.
It doesn’t fall short inside either, where, thanks to 3D-printed components and plenty of exposed carbon fibre, the manufacturer has taken impressive steps to separate Valen from Vanquish. That the rear seats are gone is hardly a surprise, and nor is the presence of newly developed Sports Plus seats in the front (there is also the option of lightweight carbon fibre buckets); but we’d hardly expected to find a slimmed down centre console, one inspired by the pared back controls found in the Valhalla. Obviously this does leave the car short of the hard-wired switchgear that Aston buyers profess to love - but it’s hard to quibble when you’re sat in the thing, so good does the result look.
There isn’t space here to take a deep dive into the bewildering range of customisation options available - but nor do we really need to as Aston was confident, even ahead of Monterey Car Week, that every example of the 150-car run was already spoken for. That negates the need to tell us how much the Valen costs, but when the old Valour was said to be a million quid a pop, it hardly matters where inflation (and Aston’s profit margin) has taken its replacement. The important thing, if we can call it that, is that the Valour always had one foot in the past - old engine, old platform, old interior, old school. The Valen is irrefutably new school, something you can appreciate even if you didn’t know it boasted an additional 135hp and all the toys to go with it. Even without the manual gearbox to cling to, its fans have evidently got the message.
I like the back end, not a fan of the paint scheme and the interior 'orange' (especially the steering wheel) is a definite, no.
It's has something of an old Matchbox Superkings Mustang from teh side and that front splitter just feels way too much.
Something like 8 of the last 10 articles on Pistonheads today have been for limited edition multi million pound cars. Where will it all end....
Something like 8 of the last 10 articles on Pistonheads today have been for limited edition multi million pound cars. Where will it all end....
Now they're doing exactly the same thing with the DB11. At least this time they've had the sense to make the DB12 V8 only so there is some clear water between that and the more expensive versions.
Given their volumes and consequent resources it's hardly surprising but it does get a bit stale.
Think it s the front just being slats rather than that iconic Aston Grill, the side doesn t need the vents instead of side skirts, just makes it look Lamborghini esque. The rear end is a bit of mess with the 4 exhausts and more unnecessary curves that remind me of a completely different cars rear end with the shaded grey parts e.g. a golf or something similar or worse a prolapse. Also what’s with the placement of the wings badge on the back of the car?
So they are deliberately styled to not look like the mainstream AM models. In that context I guess I see the point, but personally, by making them so different they have lost the AM beauty. I think the same for all of their recent limited edition models. It's not that they are bad looking cars, but when you start with something beautiful and change it, you're always going to get something less beautiful.
Another point:
If that Lightweight Pack can save 17kg from what sounds like some pretty basic bits, shouldn't have been included on a car at this level?
Something like 8 of the last 10 articles on Pistonheads today have been for limited edition multi million pound cars. Where will it all end....
Think it s the front just being slats rather than that iconic Aston Grill, the side doesn t need the vents instead of side skirts, just makes it look Lamborghini esque. The rear end is a bit of mess with the 4 exhausts and more unnecessary curves that remind me of a completely different car s rear end with the shaded grey parts e.g. a golf or something similar.
Just watched Autotrader and Smees vids on the car, again the interior is fantastic but I’d be walking past this to get the valour or the valiant as the looks on those are just chef kiss.
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