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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:

Aston Martin may be forced to stop selling DB9, Vantage in US [w/poll]

There are any number of factors that are making it increasingly difficult for a small-scale, independent automaker like Aston Martin to stay competitive in today's automotive marketplace, from purchasing power to R&D capacity. But the latest factor endangering Aston's viability on the marketplace seems to be coming down to tighter government safety standards. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is enacting new side-impact crash regulations that require vehicles to better withstand the impact from running into a pole or tree – narrow-gauge fixed objects you're likely to find lining public streets. The standard has been phased in over the last few years, but while an exemption to the gradual phase-in was granted to low-volume manufacturers, even those automakers will have to meet the cut-off next month. And convertibles (which were granted a further extension) will have to meet them by September 2015. Unfortunately for Aston Martin, two of its core models – the Vantage and DB9 – do not pass the test. That would mean that it would have to stop selling both those model lines (which just also happen to be its oldest), but a spokesman for the brand's US dealers is petitioning the government body to grant them an exception. According to James R. Walker, chairman of Aston's US dealer advisory panel and owner of the dealership in Washington, DC, losing the V8 Vantage coupe, V12 Vantage coupe and DB9 coupe next month would cost dealers about 25 percent of its gross profits, and losing the convertible versions of the same next year would cut another 40 percent of their profits. The combined 65 percent drop in sales (assuming, of course, that sales of the recently updated but more expensive Vanquish and Rapide wouldn't rise to make up for it) would mean that many of the 35 dealers across the US would have to close, putting the 230 people who work at the dealers (and another 300 related personnel) out of work. On that basis, Walker is asking the government to grant an exemption for the DB9 through August 2016 and for the Vantage through August 2017. By then, we're lead to assume, their replacement (or replacements) will have arrived, meeting the new crash standards. We've reached out to Aston Martin for comment on the issue and will update you as soon as we hear back. In the meantime, voice your opinion on the issue in our online poll below.

2022 Aston Martin Vanquish to offer a manual transmission

The retail versions of the Aston Martin Valkyrie and Valhalla remain a ways off, but carmaker CEO Andy Palmer but has given us something to look forward to beyond the flagship hypercar and its baby brother. Palmer told Australian outlet Car Sales that the Vanquish would be offered with a manual transmission. The pledge fulfills Palmer's previous statement "that I want to be the last manufacturer in the world to offer manual sports cars, and I want to honor that commitment." There's at least one potential caveat with this: The seven-speed dogleg manual transmission recently released for the Vantage AMR forced a reduction in power numbers. The gearbox, developed with transmission maker Graziano to work with the Mercedes-AMG-sourced 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, cut torque to 461 pound-feet compared to 505 lb-ft in the automatic-equipped coupe. The detune added 0.3 seconds to the 0-60 mph time, but we're confident buyers were happy with the compromise and tech bits that allowed full-throttle upshifts and rev-matching downshifts. The Vanquish will use an electrified, twin-turbocharged, 3.0-liter six-cylinder developed in-house at Aston Martin. Even so, with a lot more power and torque expected in order for the Vanquish to stand above the Vantage and battle the Ferrari F8 Tributo, McLaren 720 S, and Lamborghini Huracan, buyers could again face abridged output. Aston Martin hasn't said a word about figures, but the F8 and 720 S already crest 700 hp and bring 568 lb-ft. The Valhalla, which will use the same engine as the Vanquish but is predicted to pack around 1,000 hp, will forgo the manual. Palmer told Car Sales, "that car will only come with a paddleshift transmission." As with the Ferrari, but unlike the McLaren and the Lamborghini, the Vanquish gets a bonded aluminum tub instead of carbon. Aston Martin designed carbon tubs for the Valkyrie and Valhalla for "owners happy to sacrifice comfort for ultimate speed." Palmer explained the Vanquish's intended daily-driver usability drove the choice for aluminum, which permits a lower, narrower sill for easier ingress and egress. Having two architectures is more expensive for the small company, but Palmer explained, "Unlike McLaren we're not trying to stretch the same assets over and over again. Our approach is ... hopefully ...