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Our very own Mike Spinelli recently went for a thrilling ride in the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, showing firsthand the sheer intensity experienced within Aston’s supercar. While the visuals may have been almost wince-inducing, the symphony produced by the high-revving Cosworth V12 engine was anything but. Now, we have an opportunity to savor that sound once more through the lens of YouTuber Evan Lewis, who managed to capture the unearthly wail of the AMR Pro during a recent test session at Laguna Seca.
Lewis’s firsthand encounter with the Valkyrie AMR Pro came about after learning of the Hypercar Invitational event taking place at the renowned circuit while on a cross-country journey in his Audi RS6 Avant. In the midst of the two-day event, Lewis successfully bid (with all proceeds benefiting the Make a Wish Foundation) for a passenger seat in the AMR Pro. Armed with his photography and videography gear, Lewis strategically positioned Leica SL2 and SL2S cameras around the track to document the AMR’s auditory prowess.
Remarkably, all the on-track sounds captured in this video (excluding onboard audio) were directly recorded by the aforementioned cameras alone, with no external microphones attached to the vehicles and no post-processing—a testament to the AMR’s remarkable acoustics. Below is Lewis’s exhilarating onboard footage showcasing the true speed and agility of the Valkyrie AMR Pro.
The 6.5-liter Cosworth powerplant screams to an astonishing 11,000 rpm, emitting a sound reminiscent of a ’90s F1 car at full throttle. Generating 1,000 horsepower and 546 pound-feet of torque at its peak, the AMR Pro was running at around 800 horsepower during its laps at Laguna Seca, in consideration of the circuit’s layout.
Illustrating the blistering pace of the AMR Pro, reports suggest a lap time of 3:20 around Circuit de la Sarthe, the iconic venue of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. By comparison, the fastest lap at Le Mans stood at 3:14.791, achieved by a Toyota TS050 Hybrid prototype race car. Hence, the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro, originally available to an extremely limited clientele ($4.2M pre-markup), falls just a few seconds short of a Le Mans prototype.
“[Professional Aston Martin driver] Ian James warned me that he wouldn’t hear me if I felt unwell, thus requiring a thumbs down if I was on the verge of nausea enveloping the hypercar’s carbon cockpit. Fortunately, my sentiments during the ride were one of sheer delight and overwhelming awe,” shared Lewis.
While the AMR Pro variant lacks road legality and is designed exclusively for track use, the standard Aston Martin Valkyrie, retaining the same V12 engine, incorporates an electric motor to enhance output to 1,160 horsepower and 663 pound-feet. Despite not matching the track prowess of the AMR Pro or setting any Le Mans records, it remains exceptionally swift. Furthermore, boasting the identical Cosworth V12 with an 11,000 rpm redline, its exhaust symphony mirrors that of the AMR Pro.
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