The Valkyrie is set to go down in history as an automotive icon. As Aston Martin’s first ever hypercar, it has been much talked about in the press but rarely seen other than at a few select car shows. But in July 2019 it made its first outing at a race track during qualifying for the British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Despite being lauded as the world’s fastest street-legal car, Aston Martin was clear that this wasn’t an opportunity to exhibit what the car is made of around the track, but rather to showcase the machine to the public.
Although it wasn’t put through its paces on the day, there is no doubt of the Valkyrie’s performance. As a collaboration between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies, this two-seater hypercar has impressive specs for a car that is intended for use on the roads. At the heart of its powertrain is a Cosworth-built 6.5 litre naturally-aspirated V12 engine that produces 1000bhp at 10,500rpm, before continuing on to a maximum 11,100rpm.
“The idea is that you can jump in and drive to Tesco to buy a pint of milk and then the next day drive it to Monaco. You don't have to go through a startup procedure, just get in, press a button and you’re off,” describes Bruce Wood, Managing Director Powertrain at Cosworth, a Northampton-based Tier 1 supplier specialising in high-performance internal combustion engines.
It’s been five years since Adrian Newey, Red Bull Racing’s Chief Technical Officer and famed F1 designer, first sketched his idea for the Valkyrie. The vision was to build a hypercar that would deliver the best in technological advancement and high performance. With design development happening behind closed doors, a full-scale model was revealed in 2016 with the announcement that only 150 production cars and 25 track variants would be made. This production run has long since sold out with owners parting with £2.4 million to possess one.
Cosworth came onboard with the project in 2015 and was given the extraordinary brief of creating the ultimate expression of the internal combustion engine. “This project feels like the culmination of everything Cosworth has learned over 60 years, both in terms of engineering design development and production,” says Wood.
“Last year we celebrated our 60th anniversary and I’m amazed that I’ve been here for 32 years of that. I came as an engineering graduate and have just never found a tunnel out,” he laughs.
Although said in jest, he admits that it’s the engineering that has kept him and many of his colleagues at the company. Indeed, the founders Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth (the Cos and Worth respectively) were themselves engineers who started the company in 1958 to change the boundaries of what could be achieved through engineering by ‘messing about with race engines.’
Initially operating out of a garage in North London, Cosworth moved to its Northampton headquarters in 1964. Originally making a name for itself in motor racing, the company has since diversified into production road car manufacturing as well as other areas, including drones and marine (see box piece).
Over the years it has also grown from offering a purely design and development service to being able to manufacture many of its own parts in-house in what is known as ‘Factory 3’. However, increasingly approached by clients expressing an interest in small-scale manufacture, Cosworth responded by opening its Advanced Manufacturing Centre (AMC) in 2015. With a £22 million investment, this 38,000sq/ft facility has enabled the company to extend its service to offering production of niche volume high value engine components such as cylinder heads and engine blocks.
As a flexible manufacturing facility, the AMC provides machining, assembly and surface coating capabilities. It consists of a series of 11 Matsuura CNC machining centres, including the Matsuura H.Plus-630 4 axis and Matsuura MAM72-100H 5 axis. A Fastems FMS (flexible manufacturing system) schedules and delivers the workload to the machines and the Fastems CTS (central tool store), which holds hundreds of tools, delivers them to the correct machine - as and when they are required. Currently, the facility manufactures engine parts for McLaren, Honda NSX and, of course, the Valkyrie.
With all of its experience honed from six decades of automotive engineering along with the production capability all under one roof, Cosworth was in the best position to deliver on the Valkyrie brief, which Wood realised from the start was going to be a very complex and challenging project. He recalls when Newey came to personally deliver the brief that the specification was going to be very demanding.
For instance, Newey was adamant that the target weight for the engine would be around 200kg, which is not a lot considering the level of technology in the combustion system and the fact that it would be a fully-stressed element of the chassis. “We managed to design an engine that weighs just 206kg, and the weight really drove a lot of the complexity of the analysis. The cam covers, for example, would have been much easier to make if they were 5kg heavier. So driving the weight out yet having the stiffness to take all of the loads was very difficult,” admits Wood.
Another complex aspect to the brief was that the V12 had to not only be a naturally aspirated engine as opposed to turbocharged but also had to comply with Euro 6 emission standards. “The challenge with making a 6.5 litre 1000bhp engine that hits all targets for emissions compliance is that these two things are, if not mutually exclusive, then certainly drive you in different directions because for power you need a lot of air flow and for emissions you need a lot of turbulence to your airflow,” explains Wood.
With brief in hand, Cosworth firstly undertook a six week study in which the engineering team used combustion simulation techniques to establish the nucleus of what was to be the combustion system. This really gave Cosworth the confidence that they would be able to deliver on this brief.
From there they set about creating a quarter scale model of the engine that replicated the combustion system. This three cylinder mule engine was built within five months. “There’s really no substitute for getting into hardware as soon as possible because once you've got an engine you can put it on the dyno for testing. If we had to make a full-scale engine it would have been 12 months before we had anything on the dyno. We didn't want to wait that long before we discovered whether we were right about our combustion simulation,” explains Wood.
On the dyno, the three cylinder mule was subjected to durability testing, the same used for production engines. A typical 200 hour intensive endurance cycle on the dyno equates to 100,000km of road use. Within a couple of weeks of running the three cylinder mule on the dyno, the results correlated with that of the simulation. However, even if it hadn’t correlated, by creating a scale replica there is an opportunity to fix problems in less time and with less cost.
Throughout the engine development process, the Cosworth engineering team were working closely with other technical partners including those involved in the development of the electric element of the hybrid system, namely Integral Powertrain, which supplied the bespoke electric motor, and Rimac, which supplied the lightweight hybrid battery system. “The hybrid motor is integrated with the gearbox and serves several purposes, one of which is to provide a performance boost when you start the car because emissions are pretty much all in those first 30 seconds,” describes Wood.
Of course, a key consideration throughout the development process was creating components that are as light weight as possible. The vast majority of these components are machined in-house either in Factory 3 or within the AMC. One of the newer technologies in the AMC is a plasma ion bore coating process. Used in the cylinder block, it not only helps to reduce weight but also to reduce friction and improve the heat dissipation from the cylinder. During this process, a coating of iron, which is about 200 microns thick, is sprayed onto the surface of the aluminium cylinder bore. Once polished, the result is an incredibly thin yet hard surface finish.
With the crankshaft being the single biggest steel component in the engine, and so making up the biggest proportion of the overall weight, it was a key component in the design. The machining process for each crankshaft takes seven months in total. From a solid steel bar 170mm diameter and 775mm long, it is first roughed out, then heat treated, finish machined, heat treated again, gear ground, final ground and super finished.
“The crank is machined completely from billet and 80% of that is turned into swarf. It goes through various different operations that takes time but importantly helps remove weight from the part. For instance, it would have been much easier if the gears were just bolted on but doing that adds weight, which became apparent very early on in the process and we realised that wasn’t going to be an option,” admits Wood.
The result is a crankshaft that Cosworth claims is 50% lighter than that used in the Aston Martin One-77’s V12. “We’ve made a significant amount of cranks already, we’re up to about 55. We’ve literally got cranks coming out of our ears,” he laughs.
Once all the components are machined, they are ready to be assembled. Cosworth has set aside an area in its facility for the Valkyrie production line. Two engines will be assembled a week and with 150 production cars and 25 track cars that equates to about two years of consistent manufacturing. According to Wood, the first production engine will leave Cosworth in October where it will be delivered to Aston Martin’s facility to be integrated into the first production Valkyrie.
The first Valkyrie is meant to be delivered to its first owner and effectively on the road by the end of this year although an exact date is yet to be confirmed by Aston Martin. “It’s no secret that the whole programme is a bit behind schedule but it’s not a surprise because the Valkyrie is an immensely complicated thing that they’re undertaking and will be quite magnificent when it gets on the road. There are very few truly iconic cars in the world and the Valkyrie will be one of them. I’m looking forward to the first shakedown,” smiles Wood.
Cosworth powertrain business: past and future
In September 1958, the name Cosworth was born, fusing together the surnames of company founders Mike Costin and Keith Duckworth. Initially focused on motorsport engine manufacture, the company quickly made a name for itself.
One of its most notable engine development projects was the DFV, which was released in 1967. Originally built for Lotus, it went on to power a record 155 wins, 12 driver champions and 10 constructors’ titles in Formula One over the next 20 years.
Designing engines for both Formula One and rally cars over the next two decades, Cosworth cemented its status as one of motor racing’s most successful engine manufacturers.
From the rigours of motorsport, the company’s powertrain offering has evolved over time. From working with clients in the world of racing, it has extended its reach outside of the motorsport sphere and today is increasingly involved in engine development projects for production road cars. For instance, Cosworth is working with Taiwanese car manufacturer Haitec to develop advanced gasoline engine technologies with high fuel efficiency and emissions control.
“We are no longer reliant on motorsport for our powertrain revenue,” says Bruce Wood, Managing Director Powertrain. “It will always be in our DNA, and something we would want to be involved in, but the role we are playing in the wider automotive space is what is driving the business.”
But it's not just automotive clients, Cosworth has diversified into other areas too including engines designed for surveillance drones and marine applications. As Wood explains, these are increasingly bringing in more revenue to the company.
However, with its pedigree in engine development for automotive applications, it’s no surprise that manufacturers like Aston Martin approach the company. The next project it will be involved in is the development of a naturally-aspirated, all-new V12 3.9-litre engine for Gordon Murray Automotive’s T.50 supercar, which is set to go into production in early 2022.
“We are tremendously excited to be part of the T.50 supercar project and to have the opportunity to work alongside Gordon Murray Automotive. It is a real privilege to play such a key role in the T.50 with an all-new V12 3.9-litre engine, designed, developed, manufactured and assembled by our industry-leading powertrain division,” says Wood.
