Video: Fernando Alonso unleashes Aston Martin Valiant on the hill
It's not often the car isn't the story at Goodwood Festival of Speed presented by Mastercard, especially when the car in question is the Aston Martin Valiant. When Fernando Alonso is the driver, however, space needs to be made in that headline.
Crowds flocked to see Aston Martin's resident god take the new Valiant up the hill, which, like its driver, has spade loads of old-school charm thanks to being a V12 – manual – GT. I mean, when Alonso's changing the gears, who needs flappy paddles?
Joining Alsonso up the hill was TV presenter Rachel Brookes, who got a ringside seat to see the present-day 'muncher' manhandled up the hill by motoring royalty. Even in the hands of Alonso and blessed with dry conditions, the Valiant looked like a handful weaving under acceleration and stepping its back out at the mere threat of a corner.
It's not just the gearbox that twangs at the heartstrings of old-school Aston lovers; the car's looks will also play a tune on your heart. They resurrect the old-school brutishness of the firm's 1980s and 90s offerings with the flat face of a boxing veteran and the muscular form of a rugby prop, completed with a paint job inspired by the RHAM/1 race car, nicknamed 'the muncher' for its love of brake discs.
Sort of an Aston Martin proxy to the Ferrari 365 GTB Competizione, ‘The Muncher’ produced more than 520PS (382kW) from its twin-supercharged V8 and could top 200mph down the Mulsanne Straight.
Impressive though the those figures are, it’s safe to say the Valiant should best them. It utilises a 745PS (547kW) version of the familiar 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12 – the Valour had 715PS (525kW) – feeding power to the rear wheels via a bespoke six-speed manual transmission.
The big changes in terms of track preparation of the Valiant compared to the Valour are in the chassis and in weight saving. In the suspension, the Valiant gets bespoke Multimatic adaptive spool valve (ASV) dampers calibrated specifically for track use. These can adapt to one of 32 damper curves in less than six milliseconds. These really are the best shocks in the business, so the Valiant should feel properly sorted.
There’s a new 3D-printed rear subframe that saves 3kg, while a magnesium torque tube drops weight by 8.6kg. The 21-inch magnesium wheels reduce unsprung mass by 14kg, while a Li-Ion battery drops weight by a further 11.5kg. Is the Valiant now a featherweight? Probably not. But there’s fat that’s been trimmed where it counts.
On the inside the Valiant has been stripped back compared to the Valour but still with that wonderful exposed gear shifter. The new car gets a bespoke driver-focused wheel with no switches and a thinner rim, with satin carbon and Alcantara lathering the rest of the cabin. Needless to say, the scope for material use and customisation is near-limitless.
So how many will there be? The Valiant will be a rarer beast than the Valour, with just 38 earmarked for production. The price will, as you’d expect for such a limited model, be really quite eye-watering. But this bespoke market is both one of the fastest-growing and most profitable there is at the moment.
The 2024 Goodwood Festival of Speed is underway, and you can watch every moment of the action on our live stream right here on GRR!
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