Aston Martin has unveiled a new track-focused derivative of its limited-run Valour supercar, named the Valiant. The company says the latest creation from its Q division originated as a personal commission for a lightweight, more extreme, race car-inspired derivative of the Valour from Aston’s F1 driver and two-time F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso – the first customer for the new Valiant.
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The Valiant gets a number of design updates including a wider grille and more prominent splitter.
Going with its more track-focused ethos, the Valiant follows the same design template as the older Valour, dialled up to nine. Up front it gets a wider grille with slats running the width of the fascia along with a redesigned bumper with a more prominent splitter. Down the sides, the side skirts also get redesigned with winglet-like elements ahead of the rear wheels to better channel air. Also notable is the massive rear spoiler with exposed carbon fibre detailing. At the rear the bumper also gets a redesigned diffuser and a four-tip central exhaust. The roof and the rear window louvres are also finished in exposed carbon fibre.
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Gets new aero-optimised carbon fibre wheel covers, rear wing, side sills and a redesigned diffuser.
The cabin too gets some distinctions from the Valour. Aston has gone for a more stripped-down feel for the cabin so while you still get bits such as air-conditioning and a central touchscreen, the company has deleted the central armrest on the carbon fibre console. Sticking with the centre console, Aston Martin has cut away sections of the console around the gear selector to expose the shifting mechanism to add to the sense of drama. The Valiant also gets a redesigned steering wheel – one without any switchgear to minimise any distractions. The Valiant also features Recaro Podium bucket seats as standard along with four-point harnesses and a built-in semi-roll cage for occupant protection.
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Aston has also looked to shave weight with elements such as magnesium components and a motorsport-spec battery.
Design aside the Valiant also gets a number of weight-saving measures over the Valour. The rear subframe is 3D printed to help shave of 3 kg while a magnesium torque tube shaves a further 8.6 kg from the car. The Valiant also gets 21-inch magnesium wheels with 1980 RHAM/1 ‘Muncher’ Le Mans racecar-inspired carbon fibre wheel covers. This saves a further 14 kg in weight while also claiming to make the car more aero-efficient and nimbler. Even the battery has been replaced by a motorsport-spec lithium-ion battery that shaves another 11.5 kg from the overall weight.
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Cabin gets a redesigned centre console, partial roll cage, Recaro bucket seats and a new steering sans any control switches.
Moving to the mechanicals, the 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 has been nudged up a bit, now producing 735 bhp – up from the Valour’s 705 bhp. Torque output stays unchanged at 753 Nm. Power is sent to the wheels via a 6-speed manual gearbox. Carbon ceramic disc brakes – 410 mm up front and 360 mm at the rear – are standard.
The Valiant also benefits from an overhauled suspension set-up over its road-focused counterpart. Aston Martin says its new Multimatic Adaptive Spool Valve (MASV) dampers offer almost race-car levels of fine-tuning for the suspension. The company claims that the MASV dampers are capable of individually cycling between 32 different settings on the move with each adjustment taking as little as 6 milliseconds.
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Cutouts in the centre console exposes the shifting mechanism of the 6-speed gearbox.
The drive modes – Sport, Sport Plus and Track – have also been reworked for the Valiant to “aid the driver in progressively exploring the car’s full performance.”
Aston Martin has said just 38 units of the Valiant will be manufactured with customer deliveries to start from Q4 2024. All units are already sold out.
