Cosworth’s last V12 Valkyrie left the factory in a road car

Today is the end of an era Cosworth. Over the past few years, the iconic English engine manufacturer has built not one, but two powerful V12 hypercar engines for two different multi-million dollar vehicles. However, after today, only one remains. That’s because the epic naturally aspirated V12 engine in the Aston Martin Valkyrie came to an end as the last to leave the factory in the Valkyrie road car.

Cosworth’s collaboration with Aston Martin was an almost decade-long affair that produced 257 engines for both Valkyrie road cars and racing cars. It also broke several records, including the production car record at Silverstone, which the Valkyrie broke earlier this month.

The Aston Martin Valkyrie is unlike almost any production car in history. It’s the brainchild of legendary F1 engineer Adrian Newey, but has an epic list of famous performers in its production, including Rimac, Multimatic and of course Cosworth. In the road car, its 6.5-liter V12 produces an amazing 1,001 horsepower and 575 lb-ft of torque. But since the Valkyrie is also a hybrid, it pairs that engine with an electric motor that makes 141 horsepower and 206 lb.-ft. Combined, the Valkyrie makes 1,139 horses and 682 lb-ft, enough to propel Aston’s F1-inspired road rocket from 0-60 mph in 2.3 seconds.

Remember the Silverstone record I mentioned earlier? The Valkyrie is the only road-going production car in history to break the two-minute barrier, lapping the Formula 1 circuit in 1:56.42. The previous lap record holder was the Manthey-Racing Porsche 911 GT2 RS, which completed the lap in 2:06.82.

As incredible as the Valkyrie is as a hypercar and as beautiful as it is, the star of the show wears the Cosworth badge. Its quick 11,100rpm V12 is the heart and soul of the Valkyrie, which is especially evident when you hear it. It looks like a hair-raising Formula 1 road car in the best possible way.

No one expected Coswort’s Valkyrie-spec V12 to last forever, as it was always planned for limited production. However, the end of his launch is a bit bittersweet. Valkyrie’s V12 was a celebration of the combustion can and how it can make us feel – now it’s a memory. Fortunately, Cosworth still builds naturally aspirated V12s for the Gordon Murray.

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