Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH: The Future of Endurance Racing

Introduction

Ahead of its 2025 debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH has begun extensive track tests.

Built as the first-ever racing car under hypercar regulations, the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA).

Team and Development

The Heart of Racing team will be entering:

• Two AMR-LMH cars into the World Endurance Championship.
• One AMR-LMH racing in the IMSA Championship next year.

The new AMR-LMH racer is based on its road-legal namesake, the Aston Martin Valkyrie hypercar. This project has been developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and the Heart of Racing team.

Testing and Development Phase

Before its FIA homologation in the autumn, full-blown development of the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH will commence. The AMR-LMH racers are being built in cooperation with Aston Martin Performance Technologies at Silverstone. Heart of Racing has now headquartered its U.K. team nearby.

Currently, the Heart of Racing team is supervising the development and testing of the Valkyrie AMR-LMH in the United Kingdom. As the car approaches its performance evaluation phase, further testing will occur at various circuits in Europe.

Additionally, the IMSA Championship will witness the AMR-LMH participating in the GTP class endurance series in the U.S.

Initial Evaluation

The Valkyrie AMR-LMH underwent its initial evaluation phase in the U.K., with:

• Darren Turner representing Aston Martin High Performance.
• Harry Tincknell from the Heart of Racing team, who won the LMGTE class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin.
• Mario Farnbacher of Heart of Racing also tested the AMR-LMH.

Specifications

While many details about the Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH are still unknown, it is confirmed that it boasts:

• A custom carbon fiber chassis tuned specifically for racing.
• Suspension and braking components that differ from the road-going Valkyrie hypercar.
• A sensational 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine.

Built specifically for the new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH by Cosworth, this twelve-cylinder marvel is designed for durability, generating over 1,000 horsepower and revving to an incredible 11,000 rpm.

Team Insights

Heart of Racing Team Principal Ian James expressed pride in the project, stating:

“The first runs for the Valkyrie AMR-LMH have been an immensely proud moment in the program. The birth of this project has been a couple of years in the making, so to get it to the track and to see it going around in the flesh feels momentous for The Heart of Racing. We’re looking forward to the journey ahead – it’s a steep hill to climb for everyone involved in this project.”

Regarding competition, Ian James added:

“We are at the pinnacle of sportscar racing, the competitors are formidable, and they have been doing it a long time. Some of them have endless resources. We know we are going up against the best, so we intend to represent Aston Martin at the same level. I believe, from what we have seen so far, and with the DNA of where this car came from, I think we have the right tools to be able to do this successfully.”

Aston Martin's Future in Racing

Aston Martin’s Head of Endurance Motorsport, Adam Carter, commented:

“The Valkyrie AMR-LMH sets its own standard as a thoroughbred endurance competition car. It is a pure, leading edge racing machine, and while it is very early in the testing cycle, from what we have witnessed so far, we are satisfied that it is achieving the targets and criteria we have set out for it to accomplish.”

From next year onwards, Aston Martin is poised to compete at all levels of sportscar and GT racing (from Hypercar to GT4), alongside the FIA Formula 1 World Championship. Historically, Le Mans has provided Aston Martin with significant racing success, and if all goes according to plan, 2025 will continue this proud legacy for the esteemed British marque.