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Aston Martin is building eight Valkyrie prototypes, here's the first trio

Aston Martin and Red Bull Racing are still developing the high-performance Valkyrie supercar, and recently, Formula One drivers Max Verstappen and Alex Albon were given the opportunity to test out the prototypes. Verstappen and Albon were given the reins to verification prototype 1 (VP-1), while never-before-seen VP-2 and VP-3 lapped Silverstone at the hands of Aston Martin test driver Chris Goodwin and Aston Martin Racing World Endurance Championship drivers Darren Turner and Alex Lynn.  After publicly unveiling VP-1 at the 2019 British Grand Prix, Aston Martin recently brought two new verification prototypes into the fold. Aston Martin has been using the Silverstone circuit near Northampton, England, for its testing process, and it seems that will continue for the rest of the verification prototypes. In total, Aston Martin will build eight.   Aston Martin collects data and observations not only from its own test drivers and engineers but from its professional drivers too. For Albon, it was his first time seeing the car in person. In a press release, Albon offered some details about how the car will position itself to its customers.  "Obviously there’s still some development to do, but already it feels very good, especially the balance between the corners," he said. "ItÂ’s light; it feels sharp. Sure, compared to an F1 car, youÂ’re missing the outright downforce, but you still feel the Gs in the corners and it definitely reacts closer to an F1 car than a normal road car."  Aston Martin plans to have the Valkyrie tuned and ready for customers in the coming months, but don't expect deliveries to begin until the second half of the year. In related news, Road & Track cites a Racer report that says Aston Martin will pull back from its intentions to race the Valkyrie in the 2020–2021 World Endurance Championship and Le Mans. The report, which says a formal announcement is coming February 19, comes shortly after news that Aston Martin received an investment from Canadian billionaire Lawrence Stroll. 

Aston Martin plots more specific models for China, Middle East

Aston Martin is a thoroughly British automaker. Given its independence from any foreign automaker and its production that takes place entirely in the UK – particularly since Rapide assembly was moved back to Gaydon and the Toyota-based iQ was discontinued – you might argue that it's the most British automaker of them all. But like any other, it thrives on exports, and that only stands to increase with its latest announcement. With support from the British government, Aston Martin has revealed that it plans to develop new models specifically for export outside of the UK and continental Europe – especially for developing but wealthy markets in China and the Middle East. It wouldn't be the first time Aston would launch a new model targeted at a specific market, after all. When the company relaunched the Lagonda marque with the new Taraf luxury sedan late last year, it initially planned to make it available only in the Middle East. And by Middle East, we don't mean war-torn Yemen or Syria – we mean the oil-rich emirates of the Persian Gulf, like Bahrain, Qatar, Dubai and Abu Dhabi. Popular demand later prompted Aston to switch tracks, however, expanding availability to Europe and other markets. At this point, Aston isn't saying just what it has in mind for these lucrative markets, but the possibilities seem limited only by what local buyers would be interested in ponying up for. We could easily see the company offering a long-wheelbase Taraf limousine for China, a partial convertible sedan (like the Maybach Landaulet) for the Emirates or that long-rumored crossover that would be sure to attract buyers from both markets. ASTON MARTIN SET TO EXPAND MODEL RANGE FOR EXPORT MARKETS UK Government confirms support for new projects 29 March 2015, Gaydon: Aston Martin today confirmed it will widen its product offering for markets outside of Europe. Based on a conditional offer of an exceptional regional growth fund from the UK Government, Aston Martin will commence work this year on new models intended to broaden its customer reach in export markets such as China and the Middle East. The UK Government has committed support of up to the value of GBP6.9 million, conditional on investments in new products from Aston Martin. Commenting on this news, Aston Martin CEO, Dr Andy Palmer said: "Expanding our product range to enable a greater reach into export markets is an essential part of our Second Century business plan.

Xcar takes us behind the scenes of Aston Vantage video shoot

Xcar makes some of the best car videos on the internet, which is why we enjoy bringing them to your attention whenever they surface. And if you've taken the time to watch any of them, it probably won't surprise you to find out they don't just come together all on their own. Like any production, the producers at Xcar do their homework, take their time to set up, shoot and reshoot segments, and surely spend plenty of time in post-production as well. It's a labor of love, but as you can see from this latest "behind the scenes" video, it's not always pleasant. This video shows us what it was like to put together the video with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage S Roadster released a couple of months ago. The talents behind the video series took the unusual decision of filming the drop-top supercar in the sleet and snow of the Welch countryside, enduring some punishing conditions in the process... but it all proved worth the effort for the video that resulted.