Aston Martin’s Le Mans Valkyrie Racer Won’t Be A Hybrid

The Aston Martin Valkyrie that will compete in FIA’s new World Endurance Championship ‘hypercar’ class won’t feature a hybrid powertrain like the road car.

Talking to SportsCar365 over the weekend, Aston Martin’s sporting president David King indicated that there’s no need for it to use a hybrid powertrain because cars competing in the new class will be capped at around 750 HP. By comparison, the road-legal Valkyrie delivers a much more substantial 1160 HP.

“It’s a question that answers itself fairly easily by the choice of engine of the Valkyrie,” King said. “A combination of the electric and internal combustion engine power has to add up to a certain amount and we’ve got a massive V12 engine that we’re going to detune to make it suitable for racing. The road car does have some hybrid elements to it. The race car won’t.”

It is claimed that Aston’s desire to race the Valkyrie without a hybrid powertrain played a key role in the regulations being altered in June to allow for non-hybrid vehicles.

“You wouldn’t have an engine of that size and weight, and then add the hybrid elements and electric drive elements,” King said. “We wouldn’t put a smaller engine in it so that we could have a hybrid either. That’s why the whole four-wheel-drive/two-wheel-drive equivalence debate was so important leading up to the finalization of the regulations.”

Toyota is the only other big manufacturer so far to commit to the hypercar class, where it will enter its hybrid-powered GR Super Sport hypercar. Scuderia Cameron Glickenhaus will also compete, and its hypercar will also be a hybrid.

Formula 1 Renews Monza Track Deal Until End Of 2024

The iconic F1 Italian Grand Prix will be held at Monza for at least another five seasons.

Order The Mazda CX-30 In The UK Today, Take Delivery Next Year

Priced from £22,895, the CX-30 slots right between the CX-3 and CX-5 in Mazda’s SUV lineup.

Volkswagen Creates Classic Beetle With e-Up!-Sourced Electric Powertrain

The e-Beetle uses components from VW’s battery-electric city car and offers an 124-mile range.

2020 Buick Verano Debuts In China With Updated Looks, Two New Three-Cylinder Engines

The facelifted Verano is now available with either a 123 HP 1.0-liter and 162 HP 1.3-liter unit.

Aston Martin’s Le Mans Valkyrie Racer Won’t Be A Hybrid

The road car is powered by a hybridized V12 that pumps out 1160 HP, but since FIA has capped output at 750, there’s no need for electrification in the racer.

Skoda Kamiq Monte Carlo Debuts With Sporty Look Ahead Of Frankfurt Show Premiere

Deliveries of the new range-topper in Kamiq’s range will start in the fourth quarter, with pricing to be announced closer to its on-sale date.

Original 1968 Mini With Just 271 Miles Is A Time Warp Machine

This Mk1 Mini was bought by a lady who wanted to learn how to drive. She didn’t, so it was put into storage – until now.

We’re Spending Four Days With A Tesla Model 3 Performance, What Do You Want To Know?

We will put the Tesla Model 3 Performance to the test to see how it shapes up against its ICE rivals.

“Bad Boys For Life” First Trailer Is Funny – And Porsche Heavy

Will Smith just gave us a first look of the third Bad Boys movie, and wouldn’t you know, Mike Lowery still loves his 911s.

Hyundai Develops Exoskeleton; But No, It Won’t Turn You Into A Superhero

Hyundai says its exoskeleton reduces muscle activity by up to 40 per cent and will cost about 30 percent less than rival products.