A Horsepower Cap Keeps Hybrid Out of the Equation
It seems the new racing rules for the FIA World Endurance Championship hypercar class will keep Aston Martin’s Valkyrie from having a hybrid powertrain. According to Aston Martin’s David King, there’s no need for the car to have a hybrid powertrain due to the fact that power is capped at 750 hp. He spoke with SportsCar365 about the vehicle.
It’s a question that answers itself fairly easily by the choice of engine of the Valkyrie. A combination of the electric and internal combustion engine power has to add up to a certain amount and we’ve got a massive V12 engine that we’re going to detune to make it suitable for racing. The road car does have some hybrid elements to it. The race car won’t.
When you look at the road-legal version of the Valkyrie, you’ll notice that it makes 1,160 hp. The racing car is actually less powerful, which seems a bit odd considering the road car is driven on the street with everything from a Mercedes-Benz G-Class to a simple Fiat 500. According to various reports, Aston actually had some clout with the racing officials to get non-hybrid cars added to the hypercar category.
King said it would be silly to add “hybrid elements” to the car to meet the racing requirements. He also said the company had no plans to add a smaller engine to the car for racing applications. Instead, Aston will simply detune the V12 to make it applicable to the racing requirements.
