The pursuit of performance. It’s what drives us. Apexes clipped. Boundaries pushed.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie is the ultimate expression of this philosophy. A 1,140 bhp road-legal hypercar that smashed the production car lap record for the Silverstone GP circuit with an unprecedented time of 1 minute 56.42 seconds. More than 10 seconds faster than any other road-legal production car..

Born from a collaboration with Adrian Newey during our time partnering with Red Bull Racing Advanced Technologies, the Aston Martin Valkyrie channels Formula One® thinking into the ultimate road-legal hypercar. Radical aerodynamic performance, featuring 1,100 kg of downforce, an outrageous hybrid powertrain that soars to 11,100 rpm, and an all carbon-fibre structure, combine to deliver a uniquely intense experience.

At the helm for the lap was Darren Turner. A three-time class winner with Aston Martin at the Le Mans 24 Hours, Turner has raced with the brand ever since its return to sports car racing in 2005. As Aston Martin’s official high performance test driver, Turner has been involved in the Valkyrie’s journey from the very first prototypes. Prior to his racing career with Aston Martin, he was a Formula One® test driver. He brings genuine Formula One® experience to the project, which also draws on the expertise of Aston Martin Cognizant Formula One™ Team drivers Fernando Alonso and Lance Stroll.

“It’s been a challenging journey, but so, so worth it,” Turner enthuses. “The technical challenges for the design and engineering team have been huge. Way beyond anything that I have seen in the motorsport world.”

The Aston Martin Valkyrie’s performance puts it into a different league, he explains: “The acceleration and top speed is way beyond anything that I’ve raced at Le Mans. With active aero, and the car’s ability to optimise downforce as you accelerate, the speed just keeps climbing.”

The numbers are staggering. Nought to 60 mph in 2.5 seconds, and a top speed of more than 215 mph. But perhaps the most remarkable figure is the Aston Martin Valkyrie’s ability to pull more than 3.3 g in the bends – three times the lateral acceleration offered by most high performance road cars. It’s paired with sensational braking. Hit the brakes hard enough and you’ll have 1.9 times your own bodyweight forcing you back into the harness.

This outrageous performance is all delivered on road-legal Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tyres, Turner explains: “Michelin has produced an incredible tyre, with a huge performance window that a slick racing tyre could never match. We dropped the tyres by a few psi, so they’d come up to pressure as they got warmer, but the car was a completely standard Valkyrie, which we drove on the road after the record lap.”

Conditions weren’t perfect. The track was dry, but rain earlier in the day had left the surface somewhat ‘green’. A motorcycle event a few days previously had also disturbed the usual racing line, says Turner.

“The car performed brilliantly. I’m not sure I had anything more to give, but maybe on a day that was kinder with the conditions we could find a few more tenths if not more,” he comments. “It blows my mind that this is a road-legal car that you can use to drive to Silverstone and then go faster than the pole lap record in the British GT championship.”