The Aston Martin Valour Is a Muscle Car for the Ultra-Luxurious

Luxury automaker Aston Martin has been turning a corner of late, as the legacy brand is beginning to elevate itself into more of an “ultra-luxury” car maker. We can see these changes in things like the brand new customer experience centers like the one it opened up in New York just this year, as well as how big of an upgrade the new DB12 is over the outgoing DB11.

It’s the kind of evolution that keeps a brand like Aston Martin ticking for so long (which is 110 years, by the way). In celebration of this milestone, Aston Martin unveiled the Valour, a V12-powered monster that’s heavily influenced by vehicles from Aston’s past.

“Valour is a celebration of Aston Martin’s passion for driving and extraordinary heritage, but it is also emblematic of today’s vibrant and revitalized brand,” stated Aston Martin Executive Chairman Lawrence Stroll. Indeed, the Valour is a modern car with very retro sensibilities. For one, the 705-horsepower 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 sits up front, something automakers outside of Bentley would put in the middle of the car, if they bothered with that many cylinders at all. If that wasn’t enough, it’s married to a six-speed manual transmission, making it the only modern car available with such a configuration.

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The design itself harkens back to the V8 Vantage of the 70s and 80s. This sported muscle car looks akin to the Ford Mustang, if that’s not a monocle-dropping comparison to make. Nevertheless, the beefy 2+2 fastback GTs lend their design to the Valour, as does the Vantage-based RHAM/1 ‘Muncher’ Le Mans racer from 1980.

If you’re thinking that it looks familiar apart from the aforementioned reasons, it might be due to the fact that just a couple of years ago, Aston Martin’s Q customization department developed the Victor, a one-off model fitted with a turbo-less 7.3-liter V12 that whipped up 825 horsepower and 605 pound-feet of torque for its very wealthy, singular owner. Though built atop a modified Aston Martin One-77 monocoque, it shares the Valour’s style inspirations.

More Valours will be made than the one Victor, but only 110 units will be sold globally. Similar, however, will be the price tag. Aston Martin hasn’t disclosed the price, but it probably reached out to 110 of its favorite customers for a chance to plunk down a million dollars or two to own the most elegant modern muscle car to ever wear Aston Martin’s winged badge.