Aston Martin Valour Stuns with Retro Shape, 705

Oct 09, 2023

The sold-out limited run of 110 units, priced at over $1 million each, celebrates Aston's 110th anniversary and borrows styling from the one-off Victor and the classic V8 Vantage.

Discretion is definitely not the better part of this Valour. Aston Martin's latest special is a limited edition to celebrate the British sports-car maker's 110th anniversary, and it draws plenty of inspiration from the brand's past. But while the Valour looks spectacular in these first official pictures, it definitely isn't subtle thanks to the combination of macho styling and V-12 performance. Another welcome retro detail: it has a manual gearbox.

The Valour's spectacular styling is the work of a team led by Miles Nurnberger, Aston's director of design and the man who also created the very different CC100 which Aston created to celebrate its 100th anniversary. While the CC100 was a barely-there speedster, the Valour is a muscular coupe, one with a design that draws obvious influence from the square-rigged V8 Vantage that Aston produced between 1977 and 1989. It also bears a striking resemblance to the one-off Victor that Aston Martin's Q division created in 2020, which was based on the track-only One-77.

The heritage inspiration is obvious in both the car's muscular stance and proportions, but also details such as the shape of the headlights and taillights—now modern LED units—and the twin NACA ducts on the bonnet. At the rear, the car's trunklid rises into a steeply raked integral ski-ramp Kamm tail and it also has what initially looks to be that most Seventies of styling details, a louvered rear screen. It isn't exactly that, however, as there are no gaps and no glazing. Instead, rear vision is handled by a camera system. Exterior bodywork is made entirely from carbon fiber.

Power comes from a version of the 5.2-liter V-12 from the outgoing DBS Superleggera. This makes 705 horsepower and 555 pound-feet of torque, numbers which look relatively modest compared with the DBS 770 Ultimate's version of this engine that was rated at 759 hp and 654 pound-feet. That's because of the arrival of the new six-speed manual gearbox, a serious technical challenge. Like all larger Aston GTs, the Valour uses a rear-mounted transmission. By our reckoning, this is the first time Aston has given a stick shift to one of its "torque tube" models since the manual option was dropped on the DB9 for the 2013 model year.

We don't have any performance numbers or a weight figure yet, but the Valour seems likely to post similar numbers to the DBS Superleggera that lurks underneath. That would mean a 60 mph run in the mid-3.0-second range and a top speed north of 200 mph.

The new gearbox is controlled by a beautiful new wood and metal selector that sits within a carbon-fiber surround in the center of the cabin. But the switchgear around this makes clear that the Valour uses Aston's existing cabin architecture rather than its spiffy new one. The buttons on the console come from the soon-to-retire Vantage, as do the heating and ventilation dials. That also means the Valour will be the last Aston Martin product launched without a touchscreen interface. Instead, the center screen is controlled by an old-fashioned turn-and-click controller.

There are plenty of other exquisite details to like in the cabin, especially the show car's handsome tweed fabric. The material choice is apparently inspired by the one used in the 1959 DBR1 race car that won the Le Mans 24 Hours race. Buyers will be able to choose between 21 standard exterior colors, but if none appeal then Aston's Q Division will be happy to create a one-off shade in exchange for a substantial uplift in price.

Not that any Valour will be cheap. Aston says U.S. pricing will start around $1.5 million, but a high level of the bespoke optioning the car has been designed to encourage will drive that up substantially. Only 110 will be produced for all global markets, with the entire run already allocated to customers. Aston says that cars coming to the U.S. will have full federal homologation. Customer deliveries will start in the final quarter of this year.

Our man on the other side of the pond, Mike Duff lives in Britain but reports from across Europe, sometimes beyond. He has previously held staff roles on UK titles including CAR, Autocar and evo, but his own automotive tastes tend towards the Germanic, owning both a troublesome 987-generation Porsche Cayman S and a Mercedes 190E 2.5-16.

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