In the world of track-only hypercar exclusives, there’s nothing quite like the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro. Its naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 delivers 1,000 horsepower, and its wild design delivers 2,000 pounds of downforce at speed. Anyone can drive it, but it takes talent to push this extreme hypercar to its limits.
That’s what makes this Mr JWW special videos. The familiar YouTuber certainly isn’t slouching behind the wheel, but when Aston Martin Formula One driver Nico Hülkenberg is ready, taking a hot lap in the passenger seat might be the better option. Not that the Valkyrie AMR Pro is hard to drive, but someone didn’t just give up and push this screaming hypercar to its limits. That is, unless you are Hülkenberg.
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After a brief introduction featuring the Valkyrie, the video transitions to an in-car view by driving Hülkenberg. For an incredible three minutes or so, no skipping cuts, no background music, and no distractions. We got unfiltered footage of an F1 racer using every horsepower and every pound of downforce the AMR Pro has to offer. The sound is petrolhead heaven, and as anyone familiar with the British Silverstone Circuit can attest, the action is very fast. Considering this is a track-day car and not a custom built race machine, the performance is phenomenal.
That’s not to say the Valkyrie AMR Pro isn’t equipped with race-ready gear. The carbon brakes are unlike anything you’d find on a street car. It’s also longer and wider than the standard Valkyrie, and rides on Michelin LMP slick tires not just for grip, but because the sidewalls can handle extreme levels of downforce. How extreme? Telemetry of the spin shown here reveals 2.5g in corners and 3g under braking.
In the video, Hülkenberg admits that the Valkyrie AMR Pro does violate F1’s performance levels, especially with its downforce and power-to-weight ratio. Encroachment is still happening far of the same, however, as Hülkenberg also points out. During the lap, there were a few areas where the AMR Pro was still 60 mph slower than the F1 car.
Aston Martin only built 40 Valkyrie AMR Pros in total, so who knows when we might see another executed to the limit like this. So sit back, turn up the volume, and enjoy the sights and sounds of internal combustion horsepower.
