Aston Martin - Repair and Service Redwood City - First customer example of 1,139-hp Aston Martin Valkyrie has been built - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

 

 

Aston Martin's Valkyrie hypercar is finally in production, five years after it was first shown as a concept.

The automaker announced on Thursday that the first customer example has been completed and will be delivered in the coming weeks. That's about two years later than originally planned.

Production is taking place at Aston Martin's plant in Gaydon, U.K., and will see a total 150 regular Valkyries built, plus 85 Valkyrie Spider convertibles and 40 track-only Valkyrie AMR Pros.

Aston Martin Valkyrie Spider

 According to Aston Martin, the track car will be quicker around a track than a Le Mans Hypercar racer and almost as quick as an LMP1 or Formula One car. This is due in part to it essentially being Aston Martin's stillborn Valkyrie LMH racer but developed without the need to adhere to any racing regulations.

A dedicated team handles Valkyrie production, with each car requiring more than 2,000 man hours to complete. Each car will also be extensively tested at the Silverstone Circuit before being signed off.

It's been a long road to get to this point. We'll remind you that the Valkyrie concept was presented with help from F1 star Daniel Ricciardo, who at the time was driving for Red Bull Racing, a technical partner of the project. Since the reveal Ricciardo has gone on to drive for Renault and has since switched again to McLaren. Aston Martin itself has launched its own F1 team, undergone a complete management shift, and survived a certain pandemic. Yes, it's been a long time.

Aston Martin Valkyrie's 6.5-liter V-12

“The Aston Martin Valkyrie program has tested everyone who has worked on it to the limit but the commitment to the dream has produced a truly incredible car, an F1 car for the road,” Tobias Moers, CEO of Aston Martin, said in a statement. “The Valkyrie is born out of the steadfast dedication of a large group of highly skilled engineers and technicians who have worked tirelessly to get Valkyrie to the production stage.”

Aston Martin on Thursday also confirmed the car's maximum output. A peak 1,139 hp is generated from a bespoke V-12 and KERS-style hybrid system. While it doesn't have an actual F1 engine like the rival Mercedes-Benz AMG One currently promised for delivery in 2022, the Valkyrie's Cosworth-developed 6.5-liter V-12 is still a work of art. And the sound at full tilt? Just like an F1 engine from the 1990s, thanks in part to its 12-into-1 exhaust design.

Beyond the engine, the car also stands out due to its wild design. From every angle you really get the impression that you're looking at an open-wheel racer with the bare minimum of body panels to somewhat resemble a road car. This has some drawbacks. The cabin is tight, and access to it is via small, prototype race car-style gullwing doors. To enter, you step onto the seat and then slide in and adopt a reclined feet-up position just like in a modern F1 racer. Oh, and the seats are tailored for each buyer.

 

 source: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1127494_first-customer-example-of-1-139-hp-aston-martin-valkyrie-has-been-built

 

by Viknesh Vijayenthiran
http://www.boscheuropean.com

 

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VW - Repair and Service Redwood City - Electric 2024 VW Bus teased, reveal set for 2022 - Bosch European Redwood City - (650) 368-3000

 

 Volkswagen on Wednesday teased a prototype version of its ID.Buzz—the all-electric revival of the classic Microbus—which the automaker plans to fully reveal in 2022.

The camouflaged ID.Buzz prototype was shown briefly by Klaus Zellmer, VW board member for global sales, during the livestream of the VW ID.5 crossover reveal. Zellmer didn't have much to say about the ID.Buzz, only noting that there's more to come on the retro electric van next year.

The camouflage pattern very closely follows the scheme used on the ID.5 and related ID.4 prototypes. The production versions of those models varied little from the camouflaged prototypes, so this is likely a good indication of what the production ID.Buzz will look like.

VW ID.Buzz teaser from Klaus Zellmer, VW sales and marketing chief

 

The ID.Buzz is due in the United States in 2023, after a long tease that does back to the well-received January 2017 concept. We even drove the concept a few months after its reveal at the 2017 Detroit Auto Show.

This prototype looks quite different than the concept, but closely aligns with details seen in spy shots of test vehicles. The production ID.Buzz will use the same MEB platform as the ID.4 and ID.5, as well as the European-market ID.3 hatchback and the Audi Q4 E-Tron SUV and Sportback.

We also know that both passenger and cargo versions are planned, the latter previewed by 2018's ID.Buzz Cargo concept. VW may also employ the ID.Buzz in an autonomous taxi service beginning in 2025. The automaker released a sketch of a self-driving ID.Buzz earlier this year, and announced the start of testing a few months later. The service will be run by the VW Group's Moia mobility division, with an autonomous-driving system developed by Argo AI, of which the VW Group is a major shareholder.

source: https://www.motorauthority.com/news/1134070_electric-2024-vw-bus-teased-reveal-set-for-2022

by Stephen Edelstein
http://www.boscheuropean.com