Aston Martin is preparing to retire the legendary V12 engine from its model lineup, with the majestic twelve-cylinder being axed due to encroaching fuel regulations. We thought the DBS 770 Ultimate would be the V12’s swan song, but the British supercar maker has confirmed that we were wrong, and that the engine will play its final show in another model, the all-new 2024 Aston Martin Valour
Victor Who? Aston Martin Looks To The Past For Valour Styling Direction
At first glance, it’s easy to write off the Valour as a lightly reskinned version of the Victor coupe that’s currently sitting in the garage of a very lucky Aston collector, with the styling and the 21-inch wheels resembling that aforementioned one-off. However, Aston insists that their designers were instead inspired by the 1970 V8 Vantage, with the core shape paying tribute to that model. The hood is a clamshell piece that comes with two NACA ducts to and a large horseshoe-shaped vent to help channel air to the V12 lurking under the hood. The front grille gets large aluminum strakes and a pair of carbon fiber intakes that help funnel air to the brakes and the engines. The round LED headlights are unique to the Valour, and the aforementioned strakes help create an eyebrow-like effect when viewed from certain angles.
The rear of the Valour gets LED light blades, with each side getting six of these installed. A large Kamm tail helps provide downforce while a large billeted aluminum piece helps separate both halves of the rear from each other. The rear is also home to the bespoke triple exhaust system, with the company claiming that the triple exhaust tipped plumbing helps cleave seven kilograms of excess flab from the car while still providing the V12 soundtrack that buyers will expect.
Classic Two-Seat Valour Interior Celebrates Luxury, Comes With Prominent Shifter
Slip inside theValour, and you’ll find a space that’s very reminiscent of classic Aston Martin road cars of the 1960s and 70s. Thankfully, Aston’s masterful use of materials didn’t compel them to pull out old sheets of polyester from their attic with the Valour featuring modern materials. Aston Martin claims that buyers will have a wide variety to choose from, but for now, the company has chosen to show off the wollen tweed infused sport seats that are partly inspired by the thrones in the 1959 Le Mans winning DBR1 race car with the shells being made out of carbon fiber.
The lightweight material also extends into the center console, transmission tunnel, air vents, and door panels. A prominent part of the cabin is the large shifter for the manual transmission. Aston claims that the shifter is supposed to reflect the levels of physical and emotional engagement that have been lost as more vehicles pitched their manuals for automatic-only transmissions. The shifter features an exposed shift mechanism, and the knob itself can be made out of titanium, aluminum, carbon fiber or Walnut to help the car appeal to a wide range of consumer tastes.
Try To Bring It Back In One Piece 007
Performance for the 2024 Aston Martin Valour comes from a 5.2-liter twin-turbocharged V12 that makes over 700 horsepower, with a six-speed manual helping to send all of this power to the rear wheels. This arrangement makes the Valour a potent driver’s car, and Aston Martin has no problem promoting it as such in some of its press materials. Aston also claims that the car’s Sport, Sport+, and Track driving modes have been carefully tuned to help the V12 maintain its character and not get caught sleeping on the job.
But the Valour is more than a mere muscle-bound special and also comes with the suspension tuning needed to help the car planted on the road when the driver chooses to go on a spirited drive down their favorite backroad or a weekend track day. Carbon ceramic brakes are standard, and additional bracing is scattered throughout helps reduce body roll.
When Can I Buy One?
Aston Martin wasn’t ready to reveal official pricing for the Valour just yet but did confirm that the model would begin production later this year, with the first deliveries taking place at the very end of the year. Befitting its role as a rolling symbol of the company’s 110th-anniversary celebrations, the company will be limiting production to 110 examples, with Aston also not revealing how all of these units will be distributed globally.
Some of these production examples will benefit from Q’s customization suite, with the in-house customizer offering bespoke interior finishes as well as a diverse paint library on top of the standard roster of colors.
Carl Malek has been an automotive journalist for over 10 years. First starting out as a freelance photographer before making the transition to writing during college, his work has appeared on numerous automotive forums as well as websites such as Autoshopper.com.
Carl is also a big fan of British vehicles with the bulk of his devotion going to the Morgan Motor Company as well as offerings from Lotus, MG, and Caterham. When he is not writing about automobiles, Carl enjoys spending time with his family and friends in the Metro Detroit area, as well as spending time with his adorable pets.