ASTON MARTIN BEGINS TESTING NEW HYPERCAR FOR 2025 LE MANS RETURN

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH has completed its first on-track shakedown in the UK, officially opening the testing programme that will prepare the car for the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2025. Developed in partnership with The Heart of Racing, the Valkyrie AMR-LMH marks Aston Martin's most ambitious motorsport project in decades and its return to the top class of endurance racing for the first time in a generation.

What Is the Valkyrie AMR-LMH?

The Valkyrie AMR-LMH is a Le Mans Hypercar (LMH) class race car built on the architecture of the road-going Aston Martin Valkyrie, one of the most extreme production hypercars ever made. At its heart sits a heavily modified 6.5-litre Cosworth-built V12 engine producing over 1,000 BHP, revised extensively to survive the sustained full-throttle cycles of endurance racing without the service intervals available to a road car. The LMH regulations dictate a maximum power output and minimum weight, meaning the engineering challenge is not simply adding power but optimising every system, cooling, aerodynamics, transmission, and tyre management, for races lasting up to 24 hours.

A Unique Multi-Series Campaign

What distinguishes Aston Martin's 2025 programme is its scope. The Valkyrie AMR-LMH will compete simultaneously in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), including Le Mans, and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America. This dual assault is logistically demanding but commercially powerful: it puts the Aston Martin name in front of two of the world's largest endurance racing audiences at the same time, while also positioning the brand as the only manufacturer present across LMH, GT racing categories, and Formula 1 from 2025 onwards. The testing squad includes Darren Turner, Mario Farnbacher, and Harry Tincknell, a line-up that combines factory experience with recent endurance victories.

Testing Progress and the Road to Homologation

Adam Carter, Aston Martin's Head of Endurance Motorsport, confirmed after the initial shakedown that the car is meeting its development targets. The programme will now expand to European circuits for detailed aerodynamic and powertrain performance assessments, with the objective of securing FIA homologation in time for the 2025 season opener. Homologation in LMH is a critical milestone: until it is granted, the car cannot score championship points, making the timeline as important as the testing data itself. Follow-up reporting from Autosport WEC and Motorsport.com provides ongoing coverage of the homologation schedule.

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Photo: Aston Martin