00:00This is the new Aston Martin Valhalla meeting the great British petrolhead public for the
00:05very first time and I want to know what everyone thinks about new hybrid hypercars.
00:12Yup, we'll be going full old school motor show and putting people on the spot to ask their
00:17thoughts. Aggressive. Majestic. 10 out of 10 for me. As for the Valhalla, it's the son of Valkyrie,
00:24but much more sensible than its mad dad. This plug-in V8 hybrid generates 1064 horsepower and
00:32costs 857 grand, a bargain compared to the McLaren W1 and Ferrari F80. With only 999 to be made,
00:42it's very rare to get up close and personal, but I've brought one along for the Bista Scramble car
00:50meet. So question one is what do people think of the way it looks? I think it's pretty stunning if
00:55you look at some of the modern supercars that are around at the moment. I think it's different and
00:59original, but it's got some nice Aston Martin queues. I think for a road car, it looks absolutely stunning.
01:04The spec is absolutely beautiful. I love the paint, the interior of the colour of the blue is absolutely
01:08amazing. Just absolutely love it. I think it's really like futuristic and it looks really cool.
01:13It's not too over complicated. A lot of the modern hypercars go a bit crazy with the aero flicks,
01:18but this is quite a good liquor. I love the mix of modern and classic. So they've kept smooth lines
01:24on the front and then the back is just all about performance. It's beautiful. Yeah, absolutely
01:29gorgeous. Are you saying that because your husband works for Aston Martin? Maybe. I like the fact that
01:36the grille design is very similar to older Aston Martins and also some of the current line-up as well.
01:41I could tell it wasn't a Valkyrie. It definitely looks much cleaner, a little bit less aggressive,
01:45but still looks really good, really clean. You know, I think it looks a little bit like the Valkyrie.
01:50I think Merrick Reichman and his team did a good job there, originally designed by Adrian Newey and
01:56and then cues from the Valkyrie. So the looks, 10 out of 10 for me. It seems everyone was in love
02:02with the Valhalla's bodywork. Would anyone offer a dissenting opinion? The thing is, this kind of car for me
02:08seems like it's got a bit of a split personality because you've got the Valkyrie that lives at the top of the
02:13range, you know, the Uber excess, track craziness, and then you've got Aston's road cars. I'm not
02:17sure this knows where it sits on that spectrum. Interesting. What about you? I think it's just
02:21gorgeous, to be honest. I think the way that Aston Martin is taking that design language now with
02:25the new Vantage, the DB12 and everything, I just think it's beautiful, personally. I like the big scoop
02:31at the top. It's good. It's been a long time since we saw, you know, rear-engined Aston supercar
02:37kind of design. So, you know, I think it looks incredible. I think it looks amazing. The curves,
02:43the roof scoop, I think a brilliant looking car. For 2025, it's, I think they've done well.
02:49Pretty much universal praise for the Valhalla's looks then. Just going to interrupt the chat about
02:55one British hypercar for another. The McMurtry Spearlings just blasted the top gear lap record,
03:01so we're going to start it up and see what everyone thinks of that.
03:24Polite reserved applause for 2,000 kilograms of downforce there. The McMurtry and the Valhalla
03:30were just two of the special guest cars we had on top gear stand at the Bista Motion Sunday Scramble.
03:38This is one of Britain's very best car meets. Set among the perfectly preserved workshops of an
03:44old RAF base, you can mingle with some of the fastest, rarest and most beautiful cars in motoring
03:50history with a burger and a cup of tea. Dust off the shoulder cams, we're going full retro reporter.
03:57Citroen SM with the single spoke steering wheel.
04:03Renault Spider on a Renault Spider. A Le Mans winning Bentley prototype. A lifted Porsche 914
04:10with matching speed boat. Somewhere behind me, a Jaguar XJR 15.
04:15The very latest Morgan and a very low riding Mercedes. Absolute spec goals F355. The stripe
04:29says it's an RS 4 litre and so does the sticker. 22 inch blue pinstripe wheels on a Bentayga.
04:38Electric converted Mini, Volkswagen Carman gear, old Land Rovers and original Beetle.
04:49911 Sport classic with exhaust interiors in white. Land Rover Defender without anti-theft protection
04:57measures. The world's biggest collection of unrusted Lancia Monte Carlos. Including this original
05:11pre-production car seen in motor shows in the 70s. With all those mouth-watering retro heroes to drool over,
05:22what would the Bicester faithful think to the Valhalla's new school hybrid heart?
05:27I love it when they use it for performance. So, you know, you read this stuff about
05:32torque filling and all the rest. Bring it on. Might as well make it faster if you can, right?
05:38I think manufacturers like Aston Martin probably haven't got a lot of choice because there's so
05:42many markets around the world where the emissions regulations are so tough. But on the other hand,
05:47they need to appeal to petrol heads. So probably hybrid's the best way to go.
05:52I think it's the way forward. That's the way the world's going. A hybrid made it to a V10,
05:56V12 is I think the ideal combination. But not a twin turbo V8 like this. No, maybe not.
06:03I don't really like the fact that it doesn't make as much noise as like the petrol cars. I don't think
06:08it's as cool in that sort of way. Hybrid high performance better than all electric high
06:13performance, right? So that's better. And it all depends on the combination of internal combustion
06:21engine to electric motor. So I think the new Porsche hybrids, for example, I haven't driven one,
06:27but from what I read and hear, great, because it's still more ICE than it is electric power.
06:35And I think the further you go to electric and less ICE, for me, the worse off you are.
06:40One thing I would say about this car in particular is it's sort of overshadowed by the Valkyrie,
06:45because that is yet again another hybrid car, but that has the V12, where I can't remember which
06:50engine this car has, but... This is a V8? Yeah, isn't it? Yes. So it's still a good engine,
06:55but in comparison to the Valkyrie, probably a bit overshadowed. I'm more of a naturally aspirated
06:59engine type of person. But, you know, if there's a bit of extra 300 brake horsepower, you can get
07:05out of, you know, a hybrid motor and makes it a bit more exciting. Well, not a bit more exciting, but it's
07:10different, you know. This is only 250 horsepower more. Is that enough for you?
07:15Yeah, that probably might do. Yeah, it should do. Should do. So for me, it depends how it's deployed.
07:20You know, so us growing up, it was the original hybrid hypercars were the original Holy Trinity,
07:24right? And they were using that as a way to get more performance out of the car. Nowadays,
07:28you know, there's other reasons why cars go down the hybrid route, fuel efficiency, better economy,
07:33greenwashing. So for me, it really depends on how it's deployed. For me, both of us,
07:37actually, we're more old school car people. So we like the drama and the character. It's not to
07:40say that can't happen with hybrid, but the way that hybrid is being deployed nowadays,
07:43I think it does take away some of that purity from the car.
07:46You agree on hybrids? I think so. Yeah, like you say,
07:48it's how it's deployed. I think having that extra boost and that kick coming out,
07:53so you don't get the delays and things is great. But you do, yeah, it's, I don't want to sound like
07:57everyone else, but you do lose that, like, just that thrill with the roar of the engines,
08:02but hybrids, then you'll at least get the balance. So, yeah.
08:05A cautious thumbs up for hybrid hypercars then,
08:09but not as overwhelmingly positive as the consensus on the styling.
08:13Did that stop the Valhalla deserving a place in everyone's dream garage?
08:19If it's a dream lottery garage, probably, yeah. I think it's a kind of a bucket list car,
08:24something unique. Not everyone knows what it is, but I mean, driving down the road,
08:28I think it'll be a good one. 100% yes. I think the favourite at the moment is Valkyrie,
08:34and this is essentially son of Valkyrie. So, yeah, you could see the resemblance between them
08:41very easily. Absolutely. Yeah. But I do, I also like the Valkyrie as well. Like, the Valkyrie is,
08:48because that's naturally aspirated, high revving, crazy, crazy car, but this is, I love it. It's
08:53beautiful. It would definitely make the garage. I'd say probably not, and I think I'd have
08:58to replace it with the Valkyrie. It'd be the Valkyrie. Go for the big daddy. Definitely.
09:04Would it be the number one? It would be in the dream garage. I love the classic looks on the front.
09:10You can tell it's Adrian Yui if you look at the teeth on the floor, and you just know this thing's
09:15going to shift. I'd certainly take one, but I don't know if it'd make it in a top three. Probably not.
09:22I'd say a Valkyrie's probably up there, but I'm more into probably like a Gordon Murray T50,
09:29or something along those lines. Something a bit more analogue, because I would say it's probably
09:32a bit too computerised. Nice down-to-earth taste. Yeah, very good. No. So, what would?
09:38Probably a GT500 Ford Mustang 69. Honestly, no, because I like the older stuff.
09:45An older DB4 GT probably would work for me better, but if I was in the market for a modern supercar,
09:52and I had the money, yeah, I think it works fantastically. So, yeah, it's got to be pretty up there.
09:57It all depends on the price. You know, there's a thing about getting good value,
10:03so I don't know how much that would be. It's £875,000. Yeah, so, look, if I get another job,
10:12maybe. Yeah, probably. I like it. I like it a lot. What would you have alongside it to complement it?
10:19Uh, ooh, a Jesco and a LFA, 100%. I don't know, anything from like old Porsches to BMWs,
10:27or like M3 CSL, that's in there. Virtual Argo, LP670-4 SV. The E60 M5, the V10 one, that's in there.
10:38Series 1 release. Probably a 997.2 GT3 RS. And I'd have a Bugatti. And then I'd have obscure stuff,
10:45like, at the moment, I've been really looking at Fiat Coupe 20-valve turbos. Oh, excellent.
10:50As a random one. Very nice 911 ST parked over there that I wouldn't mind taking to the Nürburgring
10:57and doing a few laps on at some point. I've always wanted like a Porsche GT3 RS,
11:03and like to modify it and everything, and like to make it my own kind of thing. Injection, electronic.
11:15Whoops. Sorry about that. No one asked me about my dream garage. Anyway, after meeting the Valhalla,
11:23could the great British public sum up Aston Martin's new supercar in one word?
11:29Stunning. Stunning. Stunning. Cool. Insane. It's magnificent.
11:33Extreme. Impressive. Beautiful. Sleek. Fantastic. Cool. Shining. Epic.
11:40Interesting. Majestic. Extraordinary. Aggressive. Theater.
11:46That's not a word. Beautiful. Well, I've been pretty surprised at the positivity
11:51towards the Valhalla. According to the internet, I thought everyone hated hybrid hypercars.
11:55Anyway, it's been brilliant to have a look around. Bist to scramble. Second best thing to do with a
11:59sundae after a roast dinner. So come on down next time. Tell Top Gear your opinions. We'll see you here soon.
12:09Bye.
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