Aston Martin Valkyrie AMR Pro Sounds BONKERS At Laguna Seca

After repeated delays, it seems the Aston Martin Valkyrie has finally outgrown its teething troubles. Gaydon's most ambitious project yet proved a worthy adversary to the company's best engineers, who toiled away for years to make the hypercar what it is today - an awe-inspiring creation designed to be the most extreme Aston Martin road car in existence.

The Valkyrie AMR Pro goes further still. The track-only hypercar eschews the hybrid system of the road-going car and dons an aerodynamic body kit in order to make it the ultimate raceway warrior. The Pro is also put on a crash diet, to reduce weight (even more) and improve handling. These tweaks have paid off, as evidenced by the Valkyrie AMR's recent lap around Bahrain's Grand Prix circuit.

Determined to further demonstrate their dynamic talents, two examples of the AMR Pro hit Laguna Seca for the Hypercar Invitational. The speed at which the British racers move is nothing short of incredible; both tackle the complex track with ease, blasting down the straight sections before shooting through corners as if on rails.

Even the infamous Corkscrew can't upset the Valkyrie AMR Pro, which simply sails through with plenty of panache. This comes as no surprise, though. The Pro-specific aero package gives the Aston Martin more than 4,400 lbs of downforce, keeping it poised and planted, even in tricky situations. Impressive all this may be, but it's the sound we're most besotted with here.

The naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12 emits a magical sound. It's not far off the shriek emitted by Formula One cars of the '90s, in fact. As the 1,013-horsepower 12-pot races towards its 11,000 rpm redline, the powertrain's sonorous howl reverberates off nearby items, creating just about the best echo we've ever heard.

We'd love to see the Valkyrie square off with its closest rival, the Mercedes-AMG ONE. Like its British counterpart, the extreme hypercar gleans inspiration from the world of motorsport but, unlike the Valkyrie, the Mercedes uses a far smaller 1.6-liter F1-sourced V6. Despite the smaller engine, the AMG boasts equally impressive power figures of 1,000 hp and also revs up to an intoxicating 11,000 rpm. Sadly, the AMG ONE isn't road-legal in America.