Aston Martin officially wants to win Le Mans in 2021

Unsurprisingly, a few hours after the ACO approved the regulations to govern its premier category from the 2020-2021 season of WEC, Aston Martin a officialisé son ambition d’aller ferrailler avec Toyota pour la victoire au général aux 24 Hours of Le Mans, confirming the information we had disclosed (see Ah n°2220).

ASTON MARTIN VALKYRIE

COMING TO @24heureofmans 2021 #Aston Martin #valkyrie pic.twitter.com/14ct7cFTdv

- Aston Martin (@astonmartin) June 14, 2019

“The World ChampionshipEndurance and the 24 Hours of Le Mans represent the ultimate challenge for the Aston Martin Valkyrie, the most radical Hypercar on the planet, underlines David King, vice-president of Aston Martin and head of Special Operations for the brand. Designed with the aim of pushing the limits on the road, it seems natural that the next step in its development would be to measure its capabilities on the track. I can't think of a better way to do this than to participate in a world championship and the most prestigious race of the world. »

To achieve its goals, the decision was therefore made to opt for the Valkyrie, the result of a collaboration between Adrian Newey (technical director of Aston Martin Red Bull Racing), Marek Reichman (chief designer of Aston Martin) and David King (head of special operations of Aston Martin). Two copies will be lined up.

The competition version will be the work ofAston Martin and, according to our information, Red Bull Advanced Technologies. It will therefore be closely derived from the Valkyrie and its version reserved for the track, the AMR Pro. But Multimatic, already a stakeholder in the model available for sale, should also be involved, even if on this side, nothing has been officially confirmed either.

Under the hood, we will find the original 12 liter V6,5 Cosworth, placed in a carbon fiber shell but probably not a hybrid system, even. On the aero level, you don't need to be an expert to see that it is inspired by the F1. 

The sound of “THE” GREAT British car company! Thank you @Cosworth @redbullracing #AstonMartinValkyrie #NaturallyAspirated#V12 pic.twitter.com/HmEICj29uH

— Dr. Andy Palmer (@AndyatAston) 3th October, 2018

“We always said that when the time was right, Aston Martin would return to Le Mans with the intention of winning overall, and the time has come, explains Andy Palmer, president of the Aston Martin Lagonda group. David Brown came here in 1959 with a car and drivers capable of winning. We want to do the same in 2021.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie is ready for such a challenge and perfectly meets the ACO's new “Hypercar” rules. Drawing on the experience and knowledge gained from competing at the highest level, we approach this most ambitious project with the necessary ingredients to win. What's louder than the sound of a V12 Aston Martin launched fully loaded in the Mulsannes? »

Prodrive not being involved at all, this will in no way call into question the commitment of the Vantage AMR in GTE Pro and Am.

We can bet that all these beautiful people will get to work quickly, because September 2020 is less than fifteen months away. And bringing down the Toyota ogre – which will formalize its presence beyond the 2019-2020 campaign early this afternoon – promises to be a major challenge.