Christian Horner seems so to believe.
Christian Horner, Red Bull Racing Formula 1’s principal, has boldly stated that Aston Martin’s Valkyrie AMR Pro, which is being codeveloped with multiple world championship-winning teams, could surpass the Porsche Nurburgring lap record.
German manufacturer, using a modified version the Le Mans winner 919 Hybrid prototype racing car, lapped the Nordschleife in 5 mins and 19.546 secs. This record was 52 seconds faster than the record set by Stefan Bellof in May 1983, when he drove a Porsche 956 C under race conditions.
Although there was speculation that Porsche might break the five-minute barrier with its 919 Evo, the record of the firm could have opened the floodgates for further record attempts at Green Hell.
Talk started at the Austrian Grand Prix last week about Mercedes bringing one of its F1 cars from the past few years to the track in a record attempt. Toto Wolff, the Anglo-German team boss, seemed to be open to the idea. However, he said that Mercedes would not likely finance such an experiment. It is a good moment to mention that Porsche beat Mercedes’ F1 lap record at Spa Francorchamps earlier in the year by almost a second.
Mercedes won’t likely attempt a lap record anytime soon, but another F1 team has stated that they could beat Porsche’s new benchmark. Christian Horner, F1 blogger RaceFans said that the Red Bull-developed Valkyrie AMR Pro could “be a contender” to attempt a lap record.
In an exclusive interview, he stated that the problem was the LMP1’s Spa record which beat a Formula 1 time. “I don’t think a Formula 1 car can do it. He said that he believes the Valkyrie could be a contender, and that it was the track version. It’s still a while off as the car is still being designed, but I would be surprised if the car didn’t have that potential.
British company Aston Martin Valkyrie was its first attempt at a hypercar. Adrian Newey (F1 design guru) is designing it with the help of Red Bull Technologies, Aston Martin and Cosworth. The track-focused Valkyrie will still be legal for road use, but a track-only version is being created (similar to the Aston Martin Vulcan and Ferrari EXX-K)
This is not the first bold claim made about the Valkyrie AMR Pro. Aston Martin claimed that the Valkyrie AMR Pro would rival F1 performance when it was announced late last year. The numbers prove this to be true. The vehicle will weigh in at 2,204 pounds (1,100 kilograms), and will produce 1,100 horsepower (820 megawatts) via a 6.5-liter V12 engine with KERS hybrid system. It will also have a top speed of 225 miles per an hour (362 km/h) in high-downforce mode. You’ll see a F1-destroying 250 mph (402 km/h) when you remove the aero help.
All 25 track toys costing $3.2-million have been sold before their 2020 debut. All 150 road-going Valkyries, however, have also been sold.