Valkyrie LM: The Aston Martin Le Mans Hypercar with license plates

As they say, what goes around comes around. And in the world of racecars turned into road cars, it feels like we’re back in the days of the Toyota GT-One, the Mercedes CLK-GTR, and the Nissan R390 GT1.

Aston Martin is returning to top-flight endurance racing next weekend at Le Mans. And to celebrate its renewed bid for overall victory at the Circuit de la Sarthe, they created a new, ultra-exclusive, and non-homologated variant of its Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar.

The Gaydon-based sports car maker calls it the Aston Martin Valkyrie LM. It’s entirely different from the existing Valkyrie hypercar, as the Valkyrie LM is basically the unhinged and unrestricted version of Aston Martin’s race car competing in the WEC and IMSA.

Race series regulation items such as the ballast and FIA-spec electronics have been removed in the Valkyrie LM since it no longer needs to pass homologation. The 6.5-liter, naturally aspirated Cosworth-built V12 has its fuel management system recalibrated to accept pump gas and no longer has its power capped for balance of performance to produce 707 PS.

But elsewhere, the FIA-spec safety equipment, 7-speed sequential transmission, and the racing-spec pushrod suspension were retained for the Valkyrie LM. Instead of running on Michelin tires as per WEC regulations, the Valkyrie LM wears bespoke tires from Pirelli.

The Valkyrie LM is strictly limited to just 10 examples. While owners are allowed to bring the hypercar home, Aston Martin has a counteroffer. They are offering an intensive driver development program where the owner will be trained by a professional team of engineers to help explore the capabilities of the Valkyrie LM in F1-standard race circuits.

Under this deal, Aston Martin will store and maintain the Valkyrie LM, complete with logistics and an extensive vehicle and driver kit for the owner. That includes a crash helmet, HANS device, driver suit, gloves and boots, moulded earpieces, plus fireproof underwear.

The Valkyrie LM is basically Aston Martin's way of saying you don't have to be as skilled as Fernando Alonso is behind the wheel to drive a Le Mans-spec hypercar on a track. You just have to really be ultra-rich.