Talks of Aston Martin wanting to challenge for outright victory again in Le Mans date back to 2019. But after five long years of development, the Aston Martin hypercar that was designed with the help of Adrian Newey has finally hit the track.

Aston Martin has completed the initial testing session of the Valkyrie AMR LMH, kicking off a comprehensive testing program to prepare the car for its competitive debut in 2025. Ultimately, the brand’s goal is to win the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans – its first attempt since Roy Salvadori and the late Carroll Shelby took victory in 1959.

The car was driven by Aston Martin High-Performance development driver Darren Turner, The Heart of Racing’s Mario Farnbacher, and Harry Tincknell, who won the LMGTE class of the 2020 24 Hours of Le Mans with Aston Martin. Together, the trio completed valuable laps around the Silverstone and Donington Park circuits in the UK.

As they’ve previously announced, Aston Martin and its endurance racing partner, Heart of Racing (HoR), are racing the Valkyrie AMR LMH to the three most prestigious endurance races of motorsports: the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans, the Rolex 24 at Daytona, and the 12 Hours of Sebring. Aston Martin will enter both the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the US-based IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship.

The Valkyrie AMR LMH uses a modified, lean-burning version of the Cosworth-built 6.5-litre naturally aspirated V12 engine that revs to 11,000 rpm and develops over 1000 PS in the road-going version.

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