Aston Martin’s Valour Is the Supercar That Looks Nothing Like a Supercar

Take the approximate look and feel of a 1980s Aston Martin V8 Vantage, throw in styling cues from the Valkyrie hypercar and forthcoming Valhalla supercar, add in a tweaked version of the DB12's twin turbo V-12 engine and-hurrah!-a proper six-speed manual transmission, and what have you got? The $1.3M-plus Aston Martin Valour.

This, really, is the supercar that doesn't look at all like a supercar. Only a handful of journalists have driven it, and all I can say is that those who haven't have really missed out. But we'll get to that in a moment.

First, there's the looks. Aston Martin director of design Miles Nurnberger describes it as "purposefully a little bit neanderthal," channeling the feel of a highly modified European GT of the early '80s-the extended "cereal box" wheelarches as Miles calls them, the proliferation of intakes and vents, the Kamm tail, and the faux-louvered rear window-with a very modern twist. Look at the front splitter with the little aerodynamic turn-ups on either end, the huge GT3-style diffuser, the high-tech rear lights, and even the vestigial fins on that back window for a little bit of extra aerodynamic help. And if you're wondering how Aston Martin has got away with covering the rear window, it's all thanks to a tiny camera that feeds to the rearview mirror.

There are plenty of clever tricks to ensure the retro looks while sticking to modern day regulations, most notably the "lipstick" grille surround, picked out in a sober metallic red on this example, which is actually carbon fiber covering a hefty front bumper.

Inside, there are further amusing mixes of the new and the retro. The seat facings and headlining in this car are tweed, yes, tweed, while the rest of the interior is mostly carbon fiber; relatively plain here but with the option for a colored tint. In fact, the options for the Valour, via the Q by Aston Martin division, are huge. This car was actually specced by the design department and the customer loved it just as it is, and has stuck with it.

Underneath all this is Aston Martin's familiar all-aluminum platform, beefed up in places in line with the learnings from the DB12 and the new Vantage for increased suspension mount stiffness. The AMG-sourced twin-turbo V-12 already referred to is 5.2 liters in the Valour, pushing out 705 hp of power and a monstrous 555 lb-ft of torque. All that through a specially installed six-speed Graziano manual transaxle and a mechanical differential rather than the sophisticated autos and electronic diffs of every production Aston.

Aston Martin engineering director Simon Newton explains: "From a controls point of view, particularly with the driveline and how that interacts with the dynamics, it's very analogue. When you get the car into slip, you're very aware of its mechanical limited-slip diff, and you know what it feels like when you get it locked up. It's very positive and clear when it does. It's not the infinitely variable, super-refined unit that we've spent a lot of time, money, and effort integrating into the Vantage, for example."

And then I get to drive the Valour through England's Cotswolds countryside. First surprise: The clutch needs a firm press, but it's not the in-out knee trembler you'd expect from a manual with this much torque to handle. The gear selection, via the artfully exposed linkage, is wonderfully mechanical and positive in feel. Ah, how we've missed such things in modern-day supercars.

The engine is deliciously smooth and almost too sophisticated for this car, and its exhaust note is sporty rather than raucous in Sport and Sport+ driving modes, though in Track it's more lairy. The huge torque means that whatever the gear, whatever the speed, a prod of the accelerator never fails to rocket the Valour forward at a ballistic rate. Throughout, there's a satisfying growl from the exhaust and the faint background whine of that Graziano transmission, while there's always the sense of the mechanical limited-slip differential working hard while you revel in the massive, ridiculous torque propelling this fantastic beast along. The sweet spot for me was third gear, screaming the V-12 without completely disrespecting the speed limits. What an absolute joy.

The Valour rides equally well coping with the rough surfaces of British country roads and controlling the power without feeling harsh, as long as the adaptive-damper suspension is kept to its first setting, or the second setting if you're prepared to put up with a more jarring ride. The final of the three settings is for smooth tracks only; it's hard work on the road. So once again, the Valour is more cosseting than it looks.

Just 110 Valours are being made, each priced at more than $1.3 million, and all are already sold to customers around the world. You might have seen that Aston Martin F1 team driver Fernando Alonso tried his own, very similar looking steed at the Goodwood Festival of Speed; this was the Valiant, which resulted from Alonso requesting modifications to a Valour to his own personal tastes. Instead, Aston Martin created the Valiant as a lighter, more track-focused version of the Valiant, and will be selling 38 of them.

What's fascinating is that the Valour might share architecture and parts with production Aston Martins, but it feels distinctly different from anything else the company creates. It's not as easy to drive, it wouldn't feel quite as stable pushed hard on damp roads, but it comes fully loaded with character as standard-and of all the current model range, the Valour has become my favorite Aston Martin by far.