ASTON’S HYPERCAR HITS NZ

It’s a 699kW PHEV and the price has now been reduced by 40 per cent . . . to NZ$1.2m

Aston’s Martin’s Valhalla hypercar is making a flying visit to New Zealand, on its way to display at the Australian Grand Prix in April.

Aston is well known for its performance coupes, but it’s now on a mission to produce cars befitting a brand that has a presence in Formula One. Which it now does.

Valhalla sits in the middle of a proposed three-tier mid-engined supercar family: below the trackfocused Valkyrie and above the more everyday Vanquish. It’s hardly middleof-road, though: a 699kW plug-in hybrid electric vehicle (PHEV) with two electric motors, capable of 0-100km/ h in 2.5 seconds. It’s a very close rival to the Ferrari SF90 (735kW, also PHEV, triple-motor).

Originally designed to have a bespoke Aston Martin powertrain, the production Valhalla will now be powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbo V8 derived from the Mercedes-AMG unit used in other Aston models — but heavily modified and built by the British maker in the UK.

That, and the decision to make 999 units, has reduced the projected price of the Valhalla by 40 per cent to “just” NZ$1.2m. It’s a hypercar bargain.

Full disclosure: the car pictured here in the bowels of Aston Martin Auckland’s Grey Lynn headquarters is an official display model, with no engine or interior. Not for driving, in other words. But visually, it’s 90 per cent of the way to the real thing, as Aston prepares for launch in late-2023.

And in those bowels it’s staying. The car won’t be on public display, instead limited to privat by-appointment viewings to select customers. And to you, if you scan the QR code on this page.