Aston Martin was one of the first manufacturers to commit to the Le Mans Hypercar class in 2019, with plans to start competition with at least two factory cars in the 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship. The car was planned to compete without a hybrid system, despite the road car containing one.[9] Alongside the factory entries, which were to be fielded by Multimatic Motorsports, R-Motorsport were set to run two customer cars.[10][11]
In February 2020, Aston Martin announced that they would be cancelling the project, citing the Automobile Club de l'Ouest's decision to allow LMDh sports cars to participate in the Hypercar class.[11] The LMDh regulations were a more cost-effective solution for manufacturers, which meant customer racing programs were less expensive to invest in for brands and running costs were viable for customer teams. The convergence of the two rulesets significantly impacted Aston Martin's financial model for the Valkyrie race car, as they had anticipated that sales of the Valkyrie to customer teams would constitute a substantial portion of the program's funding.[12] According to Aston Martin executive David King, the development of the project had nearly progressed towards the construction of a fully operational model at the time, with testing set for spring that same year.[11]
Around this time, Aston Martin had also joined Formula One for the first time in 61 years, which was followed by an internal restructuring of the British marque's racing division with a primary focus on the company's Formula One and LM GTE programmes.[11] Despite Aston Martin's decision to pause the project, they remained open to future participation in the Hypercar class.[13]
The original plan to compete without a hybrid system was carried over to the new car. It uses the same 6.5-litre CosworthRAV12 used by all versions of the Valkyrie sports car, but is extensively modified to run leaner in order to meet the Le Mans Hypercar class performance window and to stay reliable throughout all stages of an endurance race.[3][16] The gearbox is a 7-speed sequential manual developed by Xtrac.[17] Despite not using a hybrid, the car is able to launch from a standstill without requiring engine power, using a combined starter and alternator motor system that Aston Martin calls a 'starternator'.[18]
In celebration of their return to top class endurance racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin introduced an unrestricted track-only version of the Valkyrie AMR-LMH in June 2025 called the Valkyrie LM.[23] The car is nearly identical to its racing counterpart, with only certain racing equipment removed such as ballast and the mandated electronics required for competition in both the FIA World Endurance Championship and the IMSA SportsCar Championship. The Cosworth V12 powertrain was carried over from the race car, reconfigured in order to use standard fuels.[24] Production is limited to 10 examples.[25] Through Aston Martin's 'Unleashed' program, owners of the Valkyrie LM are able to drive the car on different racing circuits worldwide with comprehensive support from Aston Martin engineers.[26]
The Valkyrie AMR-LMH finished towards the back in its debut at the 2025 Qatar 1812 km, with the #007 retiring with a transmission issue and the #009 completing the race 23 laps down, though the team was encouraged by the car's potential.[28] The car continued to progress positively coming out of Qatar,[29] finishing in the top 10 in all rounds of the first half of the IMSA season,[30] running in points-scoring positions at the 2025 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps,[31] and finishing the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans without fault.[32]
Aston Martin showed further competitiveness in subsequent races, including achieving a 6th-place finish at the 2025 SportsCar Grand Prix,[33] fighting in the top 5 at the 2025 Lone Star Le Mans before retiring due to overheating issues,[34] and qualifying in 3rd and finishing 5th with the #009 in the 2025 6 Hours of Fuji.[35][36] At the 2025 Petit Le Mans, the Valkyrie AMR-LMH scored its first podium finish in either series, finishing 2nd overall just five seconds behind the race-winning Cadillac.[37]
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Aston Martin THOR Team
Roman De Angelis 
Alex Riberas 
Marco Sørensen 