838-HP Aston Martin Valen Is A V12-Powered Monster With A Radical Carbon-Fiber Body

There are few things Aston Martin loves more than a big, powerful, limited-run supercar with a name that starts with the letter "V," so it shouldn't be a surprise to anybody that it just turned up to Monterey Car Week with exactly that. It's called the Aston Martin Valen, and it's the latest V12 concoction put together by Aston Martin's in-house bespoke Skunk Works service, Q.

This isn't just some redo of the Valour or Valiant, though. Aston says the Valen is actually the most powerful front-engine production car on sale today (because the Dodge Challenger Demon 170 exists), and it's also the most powerful front-engined Aston Martin the company has produced in its 113-year history. Since AM has produced a lot of very powerful front-engined cars, this one needed a hell of a lot of power, and well, it has it. The Valen's twin-turbocharged 5.2-liter V12 produced 838 horsepower and 738 pound-feet of torque, according to Aston Martin. That's good enough to best the current-most-powerful front-engine car — the Aston Martin Vanquish — by a full 15 hp.

Aston Martin

Aston says this wacky amount of power — the weight savings it was able to garner over its traditional V12 cars — add up to the Valen being able to rocket to 60 mph from a standstill in just 3.0 seconds. That's gnarly for a rear-wheel drive car, but the eight-speed automatic transmission surely helps. Foot to the floor, and the car will hit an electronically limited top speed of 214 mph. To make sure the driver can hear all 838 of those horses, Aston fitted a new lightweight titanium exhaust with 3D-printed titanium tips. I've got a sneaking suspicion that it sounds pretty damn good.

All this performance does make sense. As Aston Martin explains it, Valen is derived from the Latin word "valens," with the etymology reference "strong," or "powerful." It's something the Valen and I have in common, I suppose.

The Valen is the latest creation from Aston Martin's Special Vehicle Operations Department, and those loons are always looking up something crazy. Hell, this thing doesn't even have a normal drive mode. The driver's only options are "Sport," "Sport+" and "Track," and Aston says that's done to create a "feeling of urgency and focus befitting supercar levels of performance and dynamics."

Aston Martin

Engineers also ripped out a ton of weight from the car's platform — 243 pounds to be exact. It did this through the use of carbon fiber (IE: the body itself), aluminum, titanium, and magnesium wherever possible. There's even an optional lightweight pack that features machined-from-solid-aluminum suspension arms, knuckles and titanium chassis bolts that make a 37-pound difference on their own. 

Additionally, the Value has lightweight magnesium wheels to keep unsprung weight down. They're wrapped in Pirelli P Zero R tires (275/35R21 front, 325/30R21 rear), and Aston even developed a set of Pirelli P Zero Winters if you're a lunatic.

The exterior of the Valen is also a departure from the Valour or Valiant of old. It's certainly more aggressive, with squintier headlights up front and an almost Lamborghini-like eccentricity out back with four widely spaced exhaust ports. Still, it's unmistakably a limited-run Aston Martin — especially in the side profile. No one would accuse it of being anything else, but it certainly looks a bit more menacing than what has come before. A real highlight for me, I must say, is the Satin Andromeda Red paint. It's absolutely gorgeous, and I want everything in my life to be that color.

Aston Martin

Luckily, Aston agrees, and that's why the interior of the Valen has touches of it throughout. The interior, like the exterior, is thoroughly a modern Aston Martin, just more aggressive. There's more carbon fiber, lots of 3D-printed materials, and some very interesting design elements. It's a nice place to spend your time, I'm sure.

While it is billed as a supercar, at its heart, I wouldn't be surprised if the Valen could serve as a solid grand tourer. Aston has touted the various leathers and upholstery buyers can choose for the interiors, as well as the 6 cubic feet of trunk space and available bespoke luggage set. I'm not saying it would be as comfortable as a Vanquish, but I bet it wouldn't be half bad.

Aston Martin

In any case, if this is sounding like your type of car, you'd better act fast. Aston is limiting Valen production to just 150 units, and deliveries are scheduled for the second quarter of 2027. There's no word on pricing just yet, but if you have to ask, you know the answer.