The new Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH has hit the track for the first time in a comprehensive testing program ahead of the British sportscar brand’s bid to win the 24 Hours of Le Mans next year and for the first time since 1959.

The new Hypercar, developed by Aston Martin Performance Technologies and works team The Heart of Racing, completed a shakedown and initial evaluation testing in the UK this week. The car was driven by Aston Martin High Performance development driver Darren Turner (GBR), The Heart of Racing’s Mario Farnbacher (DEU) and Harry Tincknell (GBR), who won the LMGTE class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin.

The team will now commence a full development schedule to prepare the car ahead of FIA homologation in the autumn and its competitive debut in early 2025. The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is the first racing car to be built to Hypercar regulations to contest both the FIA World Endurance Championship [WEC] and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship [IMSA] simultaneously.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR-LMH is unique in the top Hypercar class of global endurance motorsport in that it is the only one among its contemporaries to derive its roots from an existing production-based extreme performance car. Th team will enter two Valkyrie AMR-LMH contenders in WEC and a single car in IMSA in 2025.

Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport, said: “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.”

The race-optimized carbon-fiber chassis Valkyrie AMR-LMH uses a modified, lean-burning version of the Cosworth-built 6.5-liter naturally aspirated V12 engine, which in standard form revs to 11,000rpm and develops over 1,000bhp. The power unit is enhanced and adapted to meet the performance window of the Hypercar class and developed to withstand top-level long-distance competition.

The Heart of Racing recently established a UK team headquarters for its WEC programme, near to where the racing cars are being constructed in co-operation with Aston Martin Performance Technologies, based at Silverstone. The team is overseeing the development and test program of the Valkyrie AMR-LMH, which will move from the UK to European circuits through the summer as performance evaluation becomes the priority.

Aston Martin with The Heart of Racing also plans an IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Programme for the Valkyrie AMR-LMH and will contest the US-based endurance series’ GTP class. This will be run out of The Heart of Racing’s Phoenix Headquarters in North America.

Aston Martin’s entry into the Hypercar class ensures that the British ultra-luxury sportscar manufacturer will have a presence in all aspects of endurance racing from the gentleman racer through to the very pinnacle of the sport. Indeed, from 2025, Aston Martin will be the only manufacturer competing at all levels of sportscar and GT racing (from Hypercar to GT4) and the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.