Aston Martin Valkyrie to enter Le Mans, IMSA this year with ICE V12 engine – only road car derived entry

The Aston Martin Valkyrie first emerged as an electrically assisted 6.5 litre, naturally aspirated V12 hybrid mid-engined halo model that has been co-developed with Red Bull Advanced Technologies.

For those who preferred even more motorsport focus from their already exotic hypercar, the Valkyrie AMR Pro followed, with a more aggressive aerodynamic package while leaving out the electric drive portion of the powertrain, in its place an uprated version of the NA 6.5 litre V12 with over 1,000 PS.

The British marque announced in 2019 that it will be returning to top-flight sports car racing, and this year is the year it will do so – it will enter the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with The Heart of Racing (THOR) as a works effort.

The Valkyrie will be the first competitor in the series to be derived from a road-legal hypercar, as well as the first race car to be built to FIA Hypercar regulations to contest both the FIA WEC and IMSA WSC series, says Aston Martin. The Valkyrie nearly didn’t have the distinction of being the only road car with direct links to Hypercar-class racing, as the the Toyota GR010 Hybrid was to spawn a roadgoing GR Super Sport, however those plans were shelved.

For this purpose of racing, the Valkyrie will pack a “rules-optimised” version of its 6.5 litre naturally aspirated V12 engine, which will see the race car turn out to produce less outright power, at 680 PS, than the roadgoing Valkyrie and the AMR Pro. Le Mans Hypercar regulations, as with LMDh regulations, dictate that a competing Hypercar’s ICE unit is to produce a maximum of 680 PS. Hybrid drive in LMH is optional.

“Running lean to reduce the amount of fuel you are carrying to deliver the required stint energy is important. We operate the engine slower than it’s capable of because we require less power. The lower power limit within the regulations creates an opportunity for us to revisit the torque curve and reduce frictional losses by reducing engine speed to increase fuel efficiency,” said head of endurance motorsport Adam Carter.

Transforming the Valkyrie road car to a racing version has been predominantly dictated by racing technical regulations, which sees the adoption of quick-change bodywork, single-point rapid-refuelling coupling, a high-speed pneumatic jacking system, and a cockpit optimised for safety, quick access and visibility.

Suspension configuration on the Valkyrie racer is by double-wishbone front and rear, using pushrod-actuated torsion springs and adjustable side and central dampers. Wheels are 18-inch units, shod in regulation Michelin Pilot Sport tyres for the Hypercar category.

The 2025 FIA WEC calendar consists of eight rounds where Aston Martin will field two cars, beginning with the Valkyrie’s racing debut in Qatar then going onwards to Imola and Spa-Francorchamps, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June, followed by Interlagos, Circuit of The Americas in Austin, Fuji, and the finale in Bahrain in November.

For the 2025 IMSA calendar, a single Valkyrie will be entered, starting with the Sebring 12 Hours in March, Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta, along with other major venues such as Long Beach, Laguna Seca, Watkins Glen and the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

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