Surprise! The new £1.3m+ Aston Martin Valhalla Spider is only *mostly* sold out
Thought the Valhalla coupe was rare? Meet its exclusive sibling
This is a new convertible Aston Martin. It is a big, pointy, mostly shouty super-mega-hyperthing affordable by only the most well-heeled clientele, revealed [checks notes] just as the UK begins its short descent into the depths of yet another long winter.
So, ready your finest Horlicks and raise a cup to the delightful new Aston Martin Valhalla Spider. And in news that is both genuinely surprising and that’ll warm the cockles of any interested Spider-less, well-heeled clients, there are still some cars left available for purchase.
Which makes it only mostly sold out, Aston telling TG that it expects one in four Valhallas sold to be of the Spider variety, and that the majority of examples have been allocated.
For those that remain unallocated, it’s a bit of a cracking package, at least if the coupe is anything to go by. At heart it’s the same carbon-tubbed core as the coupe – modified here because of the whole ‘no roof’ thing – with the same 1,064bhp/811lb ft hybrid V8 powertrain too.
So that’s a twin-turbo 4.0-litre pushing out 207bhp-per-litre, and a teeny 6.1kWh ‘high performance battery’ powering a triplet of electric motors. There are two on the front axle controlled entirely by computers, while the third e-motor sits inside the eight-speed DCT gearbox.
Aston reckons on 0-62mph in just 2.5s and a top speed of 217mph, apparently achievable with the roof down, making this the fastest convertible Aston Martin ever built.
Oh right, the roof. There’s a removable (and stowable) fabric roof as standard, but here’s where it gets a little strange. With the fabric roof up, you can only hit 124mph – you have to buy an optional carbon fibre hard top to go 217mph with the roof in place. Guess the theory is ‘just get the coupe if you want a hard top’, then.
There’s a wind deflector on board to better manage the air that’s being bullied into submission around the car’s windscreen, a snorkel, tweaked active aero to account for there being no roof, and a new calibration for the ESP. The Spider also comes as standard with Aston’s new ‘Touring Seat’ (read: they’re squishier), though you can spec the coupe’s carbon chairs at no extra cost if you hate being comfortable.