Valkyrie AMR Pro tested at Circuit of The Americas

Aston Martin has brought the Valkyrie AMR Pro to Circuit of The Americas as the final venue in the 2026 UNLEASHED track programme. The naturally aspirated V12 hypercar, stripped and rebuilt for circuit work alone, was driven on one of North America’s most demanding circuits: a 3.4-mile layout defined by Turn 1’s sudden braking zone, the elevation rise through Turns 12 to 16, and straightline speed that rewards power and aerodynamic stability in equal measure.

What Aston Martin has engineered into the AMR Pro separates the machine from the road version through suspension geometry, brake cooling, and the aerodynamic package: the car’s body is shaped to generate downforce at speed while managing the heat load that comes from sustained circuit driving. The naturally aspirated 5.2-litre V12 delivers its power without turbo lag, a choice that demands precision from the driver at every throttle input. The deep green finish and gold detailing are not decoration; they mark the surfaces where aerodynamic flow matters most, visible proof of where the engineering team focused their attention.

COTA’s design creates a perfect test of what the AMR Pro was built to do. The circuit falls away on the approach to Turn 1, forcing a hypercar to brake with confidence while losing sight of the apex. The elevation change through the spiral of Turns 12 to 16 demands that weight transfer and suspension compliance work in concert, keeping the tyres in contact with tarmac while the incline shifts the load. Each section reveals what the car’s engineers discovered during development: how far a naturally aspirated V12 can be pushed when paired with aerodynamic and mechanical grip that work together rather than compete.

The UNLEASHED programme ran the Valkyrie AMR Pro at multiple circuits throughout 2026, each one chosen for specific characteristics that would test different aspects of the hypercar’s capability. Austin was selected as the closing venue because COTA combines the variables that prove how a car behaves when every system is working at the limit: sustained speed, rapid direction change, altitude and thermal stress. The track gives the AMR Pro nowhere to hide, and in that absence of compromise lies the point of the exercise: to understand, through real driving on real asphalt, whether the engineering does what the theory predicted.

The photographs from the session show the Valkyrie parked on the grid against the circuit’s industrial pit buildings and the Texas sky beyond. The car’s stance is immediately evident: the suspension sits lower than a road version, the bodywork has been refined through the months of testing, and every surface that catches light reflects the colour work that marks aerodynamic intent. For those who have followed Aston Martin’s hypercar programme, the image of the AMR Pro at COTA marks the point where a project moves from promise into proof.

For those who have followed the UNLEASHED programme throughout its run, Austin represents closure and continuity in equal measure. The hypercar has been driven at the limit across multiple of the world’s finest circuits. It has been tested, pushed, and refined in the real world where theory must yield to physics. What emerges is not just a lap time, but evidence of a philosophy: that the Valkyrie AMR Pro exists at the intersection of engineering extremity and driver involvement, where both must be satisfied simultaneously for the machine to reveal its true character.

Imagery courtesy of Aston Martin (@astonmartin).