5 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE...
VALKYRIE SPIDER A handful of facts on Aston Martin’s new crop-topped V12 hypercar
1 ASTON WON’T BUILD MANY
Just 85 Spiders will make it into production, with deliveries expected to begin mid 2022. They’ll join the 150 coupes and 40 non-roadlegal AMR Pros to make a grand total of 275 cars. No price yet for the Spider but if you’re expecting change from £3m, you may be disappointed.
2 IT HAS NO ROOF, DUH
Yep, the Spider is great news for all those who put a deposit down on Aston’s £2.5m hard-topped hypercar, only to realise they couldn’t fit in Adrian Newey’s snug cabin. Chopping the roof off does seem at odds with the Valkyrie’s obsession with aero, but Aston claims the extra headroom makes it even more like an F1 car. Can’t argue with that.
3 THE GULLWING DOORS ARE GONE
Clearly the Valkyrie’s gullwing doors couldn’t be transferred to the Spider – they wouldn’t be much use attached to the new removable carbon-fibre roof panels. In their place is a pair of front- hinged butterfly doors with narrow letterbox windows, but the aforementioned roof panels will also get a couple of polycarbonate sections to let in light.
4 IT’LL TEAR YOUR HAIR OFF
Forget rearranging a hairdo, the roofless Valkyrie will have a good go at tearing your barnet from your scalp. The 6.5-litre Cosworth V12 makes 1,000bhp on its own and it’s paired with an additional 160bhp electric motor for maximum attack. The Spider keeps all of the madcap underside aero trickery of the hard-top too.
5 THE COCKPIT IS EXACTLY THE SAME
Like with most of the exterior, changes to the interior are minimal. For example, you’ll still sit in a lightweight carbon bucket seat with your feet raised and your body angled slightly towards your passenger. The carbon tub has been modified for extra strength, but the cabin keeps its Newey-designed teardrop shape.