SITTING IN THE Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro with a pro driver is an experience only slightly less violent than a fistfight. I'm squashed into the passenger's seat next to Andy Priaulx, former World Touring Car Cup champion and one of the AMR Pro's development drivers. The savagery of the g-forces and the rate at which corners appear and vanish in the narrow windscreen make the Valkyrie feel physics-defying, a quality my sagging neck muscles do not celebrate.
As I clamber out of the cockpit, I'm exhausted and elated in equal measure. This is Florida in the summer at the road course of Homestead-Miami Speedway. Even Priaulx is looking sweaty as we return to the pits. I'm buzzing with adrenaline but also questions, the biggest being not why but rather who-as in, who will have the $4.3 million necessary to buy an extravagance like this and the free time to develop the strength and skill to drive it at speed for any period?
It won't compete, but in terms of performance, the AMR Pro is a sharp-end race car. It was spun from the road-legal Valkyrie, itself one of the most extreme vehicles, to show how fast you could go without regulatory restrictions. Its Cosworth-built 6.5-liter V-12 was shorn of hybrid assistance (and emissions controls) to make 1000 hp. The AMR Pro pits that power against less than 2200 pounds of mass. Insiders hint at more than 6000 pounds of peak downforce, though Aston is coy about the figure. When Formula 1 maestro Adrian Newey announced the project in 2016, he promised a car that would be as fast as an LMP1 racer around a circuit. After this ride, that promise is delivered upon.
Denne historien er fra October - November 2022-utgaven av Road & Track.
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Denne historien er fra October - November 2022-utgaven av Road & Track.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
TURD ON THE RUN
IN THE LATE SIXTIES, THE ROLLING STONES BUILT A MOBILE RECORDING STUDIO ON THE BACK OF A FARM TRUCK AND CHANGED MUSIC FOREVER.
I Got a Guy..
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LONG TAILS
THE BEAUTIFUL AND BIZARRE RACE CARS DESIGNED TO CONQUER A SINGLE STRIP OF PAVEMENT.
EVEN BETTER THAN THE REAL THING
Winner, Over $100,000: Porsche Taycan Turbo GT
THE GREAT PRETENDER
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BREAKS, NOT BENDS
SINGER'S DIVETRACK TELLS A VERY NICHE KIND OF TIME.
RADIAL FLYER
A MEYERS MANX WITH AN AIRPLANE ENGINE IS A WEIRD FIX FOR SPEED ADDICTION.
THE BALLAD OF CRAZY ROCKETMAN
WHAT A BUILDER OF PULSE-JET-ENGINE VEHICLES CAN TELL US ABOUT MOTORING PASSION.
SOCIETÀ UTOPICA
THE PAGANI UTOPIA IS MORE THAN JUST A CAR. IT'S A HANDCRAFTED INVITATION TO ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST EXCLUSIVE MOTORING CLUBS.
ST.ELMO'S FIRE
AN INDIANAPOLIS RESTAURANT WITH FACEMELTING SHRIMP HAS BEEN A DE FACTO RACING CLUBHOUSE FOR MORE THAN A CENTURY.
