Remember the Aston Martin Victor? That one-off Vulcan-based super GT with a V12 and a manual gearbox, classic stubby Aston looks and old-school brawn? It’s sort of back, in the new Valour, this time packing the 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 but still with a six-speed manual and get this… 110 are being made. For the Valour isn’t a built-to-order special, it’s Aston’s 110th birthday present to itself.
Aston actually makes very little mention of the Victor, only saying that its ‘intensive driver-centric character’ is what connects the Valour to it. Make no mistake, though, the Victor was a beta test and the overwhelming response that car got forced Aston to investigate a proper run of something in its image. That car is Valour, with the silhouette, classic Vantage-inspired snub nose and Kamm-tailed rear end all near-on dead ringers for the one-off. There are a few more traditional ‘Aston’ strakes in the grille and the rear end is revised, but these are details that distinguish two brilliantly brutish machines. Happily, the gorgeous honeycomb wheels carry over too.
In terms of the powertrain, that 5.2-litre V12 is effectively in ‘DBS’ spec, producing 715PS (526kW) and 753Nm (555lb ft), with a delivery map bespoke for the Valour and no doubt, tailored to the tolerances of the six-speed manual. There’s also bespoke suspension, presumably to assure its competency as a road car, with adaptive dampers, springs and ARBs all specific to the Valour. It also gets a monster set of stoppers, with 410mm front discs featuring six-piston callipers and 360mm rear discs.
“Inspired by the iconic, muscle cars from our past, we have endowed Valour with an abundance of power and torque, while using modern technology and engineering to make that performance more exploitable and enjoyable,” said Simon Newton, Vehicle Performance Director at Aston Martin.
“A big part of honouring that driver-pleasing character was mating our fabulous V12 engine to a manual transmission. It was a unique part of the brief and the end result is something truly unforgettable; a state-of-the-art driver’s car that thrives on being pushed to its limits and has the true heart and soul of a timeless analogue classic.”
On the inside, that gloriously gratuitous mechanical manual shifter looks very similar to that of the Victor, as does the rest of the cabin, with lashings of gleaming alloys, carbon, wood and leather, all interspersed with a select few familiar Aston controls. It’s a leather-trimmed sledgehammer – an Aston of the finest and most traditional order. Production of the 110 units is due to begin shortly, with deliveries commencing before the end of the year.
Report by Ethan Jupp for goodwood.com
