In a recent Famous Last Words blog, I looked at a few of the highlights from the annual Goodwood Festival of Speed, and there were many. One I didn’t mention then as it warrants a much closer look, was that of F1 driver Fernando Alonso taking Sky F1 presenter Rachel Brooke for a quick spin up the Goodwood Hill in a car that he helped create, the stunning Aston Martin Valiant.
A couple of things to make note of in the following link is the power and the noise, the sheer joy Alonso shows of driving it, and yes, it has a good old fashioned manual transmission, well … kind of ‘old fashioned’:
Fernando Alonso hurls Aston Martin Valiant up FOS hill – Goodwood Road & Racing
I love the way Alonso hits the limiter and keeps the foot planted at the start ……. fantastic.
Aston Martin says the Valiant project originated from a personal commission from Fernando Alonso to build a car that he believes is a testament to the thrill of driving, and consequently the Valiant is the most extreme front-engine road legal car that they have ever built. It has a 5.2-litre, twin turbocharged V12 motor hooked up to a 6-speed manual transmission, with motorsport-grade light weighting and a factory fitted half roll cage.
According to a motor1.com interview with Alonso:
“I wanted a Valour, but then I asked if it could be a little bit different. I’m a big fan of aero-disc wheels and some other features on road cars. So, I asked the team if they could make a special version for me. Obviously, the aero discs were not homologated for the Valour. A rear wing was not homologated for the Valour. Having lightweight materials, you know, it was a challenge for them.”
Instead of adding those features to a Valour, Alonso said Aston had a better idea.
“When we reviewed the list of things that I’d love to change, Aston said, okay, maybe it’s better to make a full new car, with a new name, and we’ll make a limited edition?” And I said – Why not?”
“From that point, we started working on some aerodynamic devices,” he says. “The Valiant has more power and less weight, so everything that a racing driver loves to have. I think the final product is a piece of moving art.”
“The sound from the V-12 is a very special way to feel the car, you know? It transmits the passion you have behind the wheel”.
Saving weight in a performance car is always a key thing, and for the Valiant, the Aston Martin Formula 1 team gave some assistance.
“Some of the weight savings that we do with the F1 team are on the highest part of the car because you can lower the centre of gravity. So, places like the cockpit, the seat, the steering wheel, the console, those are key places in F1, and they fed that back into the road car. The seats and the cockpit are a big change from the Valour to the Valiant.”
But I guess being a traditionalist at heart, the thing I love best about this car is when Fernando Also says:
“Having the manual with a V-12 car is something that, I think, has more appeal than having a normal automatic.”
Love the Man.
This topgear.com article takes a closer look at the new Aston Martin Valiant, which I think has very quickly become my dream car. I’d love to see the new James Bond crunching the gears in a Valiant whilst racing through a European city in the next 007 movie!
Fernando Alonso’s ‘Extreme’ Aston Martin Valiant – topgear.com
If you’re interested in owning an Aston Martin Valiant and quick as only 38 cars will be manufactured, you have a lazy 2 million British Pounds Stirling or just under $4 million Australian and the desire to drive a new, good old fashioned rocket ship of a car as conceived by an F! champion, you may like to look closer at the Aston Martin Valiant on the official website:
www.astonmartin.com/en-au/models/valiant
PS, if you do get one, would you mind taking me for a drive ….. please!