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Cosworth briefly crows that Aston Valkyrie's 6.5L V12 has record horsepower

It's only natural that Cosworth would want the world to know that it's building the world's most powerful naturally-aspirated engine for the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valkyrie AMR Pro. The timing of when the world should know about it, that's at issue. Yesterday the English engine maker's official Twitter account posted a picture of the barely-there coupe and the line, "We're famous for breaking records and our latest engine, the Aston Martin Valkyrie 6.5-litre V12, will be the world's most powerful naturally aspirated road engine with 1,130bhp." Two tags accompanied the post, #Cosworth and #AstonMartinValkyrie. About 90 minutes later, the tweet disappeared. The likely issue is that Cosworth got ahead of Aston Martin's official confirmation of Valkyrie outputs, something we're more used to from patent offices and Chinese model makers. The question is what output is Cosworth really talking about, and which car. All of last year, however, various reports had the street-legal Valkyrie making 1,130 hp. A Road & Track report attributed "nearly 1,000 hp" coming from the NA V12, the remaining 130 from a kinetic energy recovery system working the front axle. Hence, we're not sure if Cosworth's talking about its own engine alone at 1,130 hp, or its engine with the KERS. But then there's this: At the launch of the Valkyrie AMR Pro during the Geneva Motor Show this year, Aston Martin said the track-only Valkyrie AMR Pro would enjoy "a combined power output of more than 1100 bhp — more than the Valkyrie road car and a figure than comfortably exceeds the magic 1:1 power-to-weight ratio." The truth's a mystery for now, which is just as Aston Martin would want it. If Cosworth's engine really does make 1,130 hp on its own, that would be monstrous, and it would mean the automaker's been playing a serious game of English understatement. Even if Cosworth included the hybrid help, however, an NA V12 with 1,000 ponies would take the crown. The only competition is the 6.5-liter V12 in the Ferrari 812 Superfast, and that's 211 horses adrift. The quad-digit figures expected from Mercedes-AMG Project One and McLaren Speedtail require turbochargers, as does the just-teased V8 going into the Shelby Tuatara. With the first of 150 Valkyrie road car deliveries scheduled for next year, we probably don't have that much longer to wait to find out. Related Video:

The only road-legal Aston Martin Vulcan dressed up in bomber camo for Gumball

The Gumball 3000 is to cars what the Met Gala is to fashion. Whereas Gala guests are flexing their money with outrageous outfits and costly designer customs, Gumball participants show off with expensive and rare vehicles covered in eye-popping temporary skins. One of the biggest stars at the 2019 Gumball 3000 will be the only road-legal Aston Martin Vulcan in the world. This year, the Gumball 3000's path takes drivers from Mykonos, Greece, to Athens, Greece, to Thessaloniki, Greece, to Tirana, Albania, to Porto Montenegro, Montenegro, to Split, Croatia, to Venice, Italy, to Monaco, to Barcelona, Spain, to Ibiza Town, Spain. Approximately 114 teams will be participating in the ostentatious party rally, and few will have a car more special than the Vulcan. YouTube personality Mr. JWW will be behind the wheel of the Team 106 car, which is wearing a slick camo look that is inspired by the Avro Vulcan bomber used by the Royal Air Force (and featured in the James Bond movie Thunderball as another point of reference). JWW will also be joined by G. Stepanovs and S. Tompkins. Of the 24 Vulcans made, the one you see here is the only road-legal version of the bunch. In the video above, JWW shows exactly what makes it capable of driving on public roads. The mods include Michelin Pilot Sport Cup 2 tires, an increased ride height, a different front splitter, a revised radiator, removed steering lock stops, revised steering rack, and an altered rear wing. The biggest adjustment is the addition of proper headlights, which give the Vulcan an entirely new front-end style. Aston Martin changed a few minor things inside, as well. Check out all of the features in the full video above, and watch the JWW and Gumball 3000 social channels this weekend and next week for ongoing rally coverage. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Gumball 3000 (@gumball3000) on Jun 7, 2019 at 6:43am PDT

Aston Martin mulls Formula E, but one thing must change

It may be the off-season, but Formula E is on fire. It seems that everybody is scrambling for a spot on the grid. Jaguar relaunched its racing program in the electric series, and is doubling down with a support series. Audi took a more prominent position for next season. BMW's in. Mercedes-Benz will be joining, too. Porsche has ditched WEC for Formula E. FCA is interested. So it shouldn't be too surprising, then, that Aston Martin is now considering a Formula E entry, as Automotive News Europe reports. Aston Martin CEO Andy Palmer told the outlet that the series could support the company's development of electric vehicles, such as the upcoming RapidE, pictured above. "We don't have an electric car yet, but we will have in 2019," he said. "You can imagine the two coming together. I love Formula E." Palmer said, though, that Aston Martin wouldn't want to join the series until it does away with car swaps mid-race. "For me, the use of the two cars reinforces the range anxiety," Palmer told Automotive News Europe. "That will change, and then it starts to get interesting." In the past, other automakers have expressed similar concerns about car swaps. The upcoming season will be the last to use the practice, and Formula E will move toward using a single car per driver for each race beginning in the 2018-19 season. Aston Martin scaled back plans for the RapidE electric car after its partner LeEco pulled out of the project. Instead, Aston Martin will rely on the engineering expertise of Williams, and limit the RapidE to 155 units, priced at around $255,000. Related Video: Featured Gallery Aston Martin RapidE concept View 12 Photos News Source: Automotive News EuropeImage Credit: Aston Martin Green Motorsports Aston Martin Electric Racing Vehicles Formula E aston martin rapide fia formula e championship