Proving, again, there is often truth to rumor, Aston Martin chief executive Andy Palmer confirmed that the previously code-named Aston Martin AM-RB-003 s hypercar will be officially called Valhalla, continuing with the manufacturer’s Norse god naming theme.



“Norse mythology contains such powerful language and rich storytelling it felt only right that the AM-RB 003 should follow the Valkyrie’s theme,” Palmer told reporters. 



“For those fortunate enough to own one I’m sure they will recognize and appreciate the name’s connotations of glory and happiness, for there can be few more hallowed places than the driver’s seat of an Aston Martin Valhalla.”



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d090e2734a5c4000848b85f/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Inside the new Aston Martin Valhalla."/><figcaption>Speed Racer: The dash might be minimal, but the F1-style steering wheel is anything but.&nbsp;ASTON MARTIN</figcaption></figure>



Joining the stunning Valkyrie and extreme Valkyrie AMR Pro, the all-new gift from the gods will compete for bragging rights with the likes of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/nargessbanks/2019/05/26/ferrari-design-favio-manzoni/#2c5955bb20ea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Ferrari LaFerrari</a>&nbsp;and the McLaren Senna.



<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/chucktannert/2019/03/07/the-best-new-supercars-hypercars-and-sports-cars-from-the-2019-geneva-motor-show/#3a981fe12842" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">As we reported earlier this year</a>, only 500 of the hybrid hypercar will be built, every single one of them clad entirely in carbon fiber.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d090ce4142c50000a33484a/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="Aston Martin Valkyrie."/><figcaption>Sibling Rivalry: The Valhalla borrows much of its styling from older brother, the Valkyrie (shown here).&nbsp;ASTON MARTIN</figcaption></figure>



The Valhalla will look much like its bigger brother, the Valkyrie (the rear diffuser and air tunnels appear to be nearly identical). However, it will sport a more traditional mid-engine supercar layout, with high-exit exhausts, a jet-fighter-style canopy, and active aerodynamics and suspension.



It will be powered by an all-new V6 engine that will feature some level of hybridization and turbocharging to aid performance. Total output: 1,000 horsepower. However, that is still just a rumor. We’ll have to wait and see. Also available will be an 8-speed F1-inspired dual-clutch transmission, a limited-slip differential and an e-AWD system.



<figure class="wp-block-image"><img decoding="async" src="https://specials-images.forbesimg.com/imageserve/5d090d75142c50000a33485c/960x0.jpg?fit=scale" alt="All new Aston Martin Valhalla"/><figcaption>Powerful Beast: The Valhalla&#8217;s turbocharged hybrid V-6 is expected to develop 1,000 horsepower.ASTON MARTIN</figcaption></figure>



Aston Martin is targeting a 0-62 mph sprint time of 2.5 seconds and a top speed of more than 220 mph.



If you don’t have the almost $2 million ticket to ride this 200 mph-plus hybrid hypercar, you can see it in the upcoming 007 movie now in production starring Daniel Craig as James Bond. It is set to be one of a trio of Aston Martins to appear in the film.&nbsp;Send me a secure&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/tips/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tip</a>.



-Chuck Tannert; Forbes Staff

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The Nearly $2 Million Aston Martin Valhalla Is A Gift From The Gods

The future is difficult to predict; perhaps the solution for entrepreneurs to stay afloat is to create it.
This is when high-growth asset classes, in the form of stocks, bonds and their cash equivalents, are something that entrepreneurs should enjoy having in their personal portfolios. They make it more comfortable for an entrepreneur to take risks. If an entrepreneur’s business venture fails, an asset class will act as a soft cushion for them to fall upon until they are able to rise again.
Real estate is a safe but overrated investment option. Even celebrities are given this clichéd investment option to safeguard their future. An advantage of real estate is you can choose whether to invest your money in commercial buildings, like office blocks, shopping centres and industrial buildings, or residential buildings, which includes apartments or houses, in the form of holiday houses or rental properties.
But, this is advice anyone can find on Google, or the first thing your financial adviser will tell you. The problem is some of these properties have an annual growth rate that is comparable to leaving your money in a savings account at the bank. Basically, any financial adviser who talks about property as a core investment is an amateur.
Successful African entrepreneurs need to spread their wings and invest in multiple asset classes.
Passive fund management is quickly taking over from active fund management, which charges high management fees, yet rarely outperforms the market. When you claim your money back, the money reflected on paper at the time of payment will be deducted to leave you an amount that will not make you smile.
Larry Fink, Founder of BlackRock, the largest global fund manager with $4.3 trillion in assets under management, noted an emerging trend of massive amounts of money that are flowing from active management to passive management.
Low-cost passive indexation fund managers are not yet popular, but they are the future, with undeniable value proposition. Entrepreneurs who want to secure their family’s future should consider passive asset managers, with guaranteed returns and the option to tailor your indices to those that are performing best in the market.
My advice is to consider becoming an angel investor of about 10 funds in start-ups, and small and medium-sized companies. They can be risky, hence the small percentage, but if you make it, the rewards are huge. This will also be an exciting experience for an entrepreneur to help other entrepreneurs grow, similar to what Peter Thiel did with Mark Zuckerberg and Facebook. It proved to be the best decision he made after co-founding PayPal with Elon Musk and Max Levchin.
Many billionaires become angel investors in start-ups around the world, from China to Germany, Kenya, the United States and India. They claim the experience is more rewarding than just trading on the stock exchange.
Jimmy Wales, Founder of Wikipedia, is a small angel investor in Quora, which has built an online community of intellectuals. Steve Case, Founder of AOL, funded dozens of start-ups through his investment firm Revolution LLC, where he focuses on growing them.
Depending on how big your bank balance is, you may consider investing in art, antiques and vintage cars, like Aston Martin, which is one of the few cars on the planet to appreciate with time.
However, paintings and other vintage items, is a game only the rich can play. If you have really made it as an entrepreneur, it will suit you to have these types of items in your portfolio. China’s millionaire art collector, Li Guochang, is preserving his wealth this way.
If you don’t have piles of cash, you need not worry. As an entrepreneur, you don’t need to be it to start participating in asset classes to secure your financial future.

Become An Angel  To Avoid  Investor Demons

Bread and butter. Horse and carriage. Aston Martin and Bond… James Bond.
Even though 007 started out in a Chevrolet Bel Air convertible in Dr No, and has been behind the wheel of a wild assortment of vehicles from a tuk-tuk taxi to a Ford Mustang, it is the British supercar that has an immediate association with the superspy.
And in particular the DB5 which is the iconic Bond-mobile, from Goldfinger to Skyfall nearly 50 years later!
While Aston Martin Lagonda Limited may have had a rather chequered financial history since the company was founded by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford in 1913, it is the Bond connotation that has helped to keep the brand high on the supercar desirability scale.
It is, however, an association that is steeped in irony. While the movies portrayed the Astons as the perfect vehicle for Q’s cutting edge gadgetry, in the high-tech real world of modern supercars they may have slipped a gear or two.
This is certainly not on your mind though as you paddle through the seven-speed automated manual transmission with the soft top down and the sport button activated to give you a boost in performance and a sample of auditory heaven. A good reason to leave the 1,000 watt Bang &amp; Olufsen stereo off the options list.
And it’s the fact that the gearbox is not as smooth as Banarasi silk that makes the V12 Vantage S Roadster fun – and challenging – to drive. You feel that you are part of the equation for every perfect gear change.
Is that an excuse and will Aston Martin continue to rely on class, image and a colorful history rather than leading the way in automotive engineering?
A clue is that they are spending millions of pounds on state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities at their Gaydon, Warwickshire plant developing their next generation of sports cars.
As we weave through traffic on the highway, the general manager of Aston Martin in Sandton, Rens Rademeyer, assures me that the brand is not going the mass production route.
They make less than 5,000 finely crafted vehicles a year. And as you survey the instrument panel, getting to know the precisely positioned controls and admiring the craftsmanship of the interior styling, you get the overwhelming feeling that every Aston is tailor-made.
“It’s beyond bespoke,” he says. “We assimilate a client’s DNA into the final product.”
To get your creative juices flowing, or even racing, there is a delicately prepared ‘Q’ book to page through with the aim of ensuring that every stitch of leather, every color choice, reflects your personality. Which I could find rather daunting!
“When Egyptology was the big thing, a client wanted scarab beetle wings inlaid into our emblem. The Aston Martin wings have to stay within the spirit of the brand but our appointed jeweler in London was able to blend the two,” says Rademeyer.
“Another customer from China wanted a special piece from his Ming vase collection stitched into his seatbacks. We even had an order from America for all the interior finishes to reflect his superyacht!”
The personal details and options come at a price. While the basic Vantage Roadster will set you back a tad over $260,000, the extras on a well-specced vehicle can easily add $40,000 to the bill.
While the local distributors haven’t had a price increase in three years, it’s no secret that most supercars see a significant drop in value as they are driven off the showroom floor.
Rademeyer claims that there are some unique opportunities in the low production, high demand strategy and you can still make a profit with some intensive research – and ready cash – to get your hands on the exclusive models.
The race-inspired Vantage GT12 is an example. It is still in production but you could no doubt sell your place on the limited order list of 100 at a premium.
South Africans will get to see the sleeker, lighter, more powerful version of the Vantage S dodging potholes on their roads.
And now we await the DB10, one of the star turns in Spectre – the 24th James Bond film to be shot by Eon Productions.
But Daniel Craig will be one of the few people to get behind the wheel; Aston Martin is only making 10 of them.
So the well-heeled will have to wait for the DB11 which will certainly take a healthy slice of design influence from the Bond car.
Will the Best of British be sought after on the African continent?
Despite a lack of infrastructure and service agents to the north, Astons are sold from Angola to Nigeria and Ghana to Equatorial Guinea.
It seems that whoever we are and wherever we live, we can feel Bond on our shoulder as we climb into that beautifully appointed cabin and know that the iconic grille and badge are attracting some envious looks.
After all, you only live twice.

Astons Are Forever

A supercar has been defined as a vehicle that’s extremely fast or powerful and also commands a high price. The term first saw the light-of-day as part of an advert for the Bentley Speed Six on November 11, 1920, but only really caught on after being revived by British motoring journalist L.J.K Setright in the 1960s. He was writing a review on the Lamborghini Miura and claimed to have coined the phrase himself.
South African-built supercars have been few and far between. Traditionally, home-grown forays into this market have been limited to the making of headers, radiators, exhausts and chassis by Port Elizabeth-based Hi-Tech Automotive, on behalf of Noble, a British supercar manufacturer. These items would be shipped to the head office in Leicester England, to be fitted with engines and transmissions.
It’s no mean feat to have been selected by Noble for this auspicious task, considering that the M400—which made its debut in 2005—has been described by local salesman Neville Ritchie, as “the closest you’ll get to Formula One acceleration”. The extremely high tolerances that are required, along with Hi-Tech Automotive’s supreme craftsmanship, has seen them gain a prodigious reputation drawing delegates from Ferrari, who visited the plant to view their processes. In addition, Carroll Shelby—the originator of the Cobra—was so taken by the company’s quality workmanship, he demanded the replicas produced in the Port Elizabeth factory bore his name.
While South Africa is able to deliver world-class items, the moniker of “South African-made” was rarely attached to a vehicle deemed worthy of supercar status.
In 2009 however, all that changed with the advent of the Barnard. Housed in a secluded factory outside Bloemfontein, the South African-conceived, designed and built supercar can match the performance levels of the upper echelon of European performance vehicles. It boasts a top speed in excess of 300km/h, and sprints from standstill to 100km/h in less than four seconds. Providing the blueprint for the Barnard was the Porsche 962, and it is from this German marquis that the powerplant for the Barnard has been sourced. The twin-turbo V8 engine has undergone significant performance enhancing changes and delivers a staggering 460kW of power.
Despite these technological advances, the Barnard is still a purist’s car, in many respects, shunning the use of power steering, vacuum-assisted or ABS brakes, traction control as well as luxuries such as electric windows.
Borrowing from the advances made in Formula One, the Barnard’s shell is a monocoque chassis made from hi-tech steels such as Domex and Docol—both light and strong materials that can easily be shaped as the manufacturer wishes. The rear of the car is a sophisticated tubular steel cradle which houses the engine, gearbox and rear suspension. The Barnard’s front suspension is mated directly to the car’s rigid structure. Each vehicle is built according to the individual purchaser’s requirements—something one might expect considering these cars command a hefty price tag of approximately R1.1 million ($136,000).
The brainchild behind the eponymously-named vehicle is Chris Barnard. His deep roots in endurance racing were the driving force behind the production of a Le Mans-style race car. “This is a car which has been built with the objective of breaking barriers,” Barnard says. “No expense has been spared to make what I believe is the most single-minded performance machine yet from South Africa.”
More recently, a vehicle going by the name of the Perana Z-One, has come under the spotlight. The South African-built hypercar—assembled again at the Hi-Tech Automotive plant—has been limited to 999 units, and is a two-seater, Italian-designed vehicle that boasts 0-100km/h sprint times around the four second mark. Power is generated from a front/mid-mounted Chevrolet Corvette LS3 6.2-litre V8 engine that produces a whopping 328kW and 583Nm of torque. The Perana’s chassis is made from tubular and box-sectioned fibreglass and has seams so well machined it looks like the car was skinned in aluminium. The man responsible for this immaculate bodywork is chief stylist, Nori Harada.
Power is delivered to the rear wheels by the same six-speed transmission found in a Ford Shelby GT500 Mustang. Of course this hurtling rocket needs to be brought to a standstill and stopping power is provided courtesy of remarkable Brembo callipers. The vehicle’s shocks and springs are supplied by Bilstein and Eibach respectively.
The Perana marks the first collaboration between a Milanese coachbuilder and South African car manufacturer, Zagato, who have a 90-year long history in building fully-functional running concept cars. Amazingly, the car can be built in an unheard of four months’ time.
The Perana has a 50/50 weight distribution, which allows for a balanced and predictable drive. The steering has been described as sharp and gives the driver immediate and accurate feedback of the road conditions. The Perana is nimble and weighs in at an ascetic 1,195kg. Power is delivered to a six-speed manual gearbox with limited slip differential. The price for this sublime vehicle is around the R1 million mark ($124,000), but sadly the cars will be available only to the European market.
So what can we expect from local supercar manufacturers in the future? In recent years, South Africa has been one of the best performing motor vehicle markets globally. South Africa exports cars to some 70 countries internationally and represents all of the major car makers and eight of the top ten vehicle component companies. The Motor Industry Development Programme has helped boost exports and its successive programme, which will come into play in 2012, will reportedly result in more jobs and long-term sustainability for the industry. It seems the local motor vehicle industry is set to go from strength to strength. If the advent of these hypercars and the Joule—South Africa’s first, and much heralded, electric car—is anything to go by, locally-manufactured supercars might very soon be gracing a road near you.

The Heart Of African Supercars

I recently recall conversations I had with purveyors of fine automotive flamboyance, beginning with the Daytona Group’s Clifford Joffe. Aston Martin’s closest iteration of a supercar, the DBS, is an amazing piece of work—all curves, lines, folds and sheer presence. It arrests the senses in all sorts of ways. Clearly the designer was not using a slide rule here. This was sheer madness. Works for me. Much has been said of Aston Martin being a small company without the patronage of a larger parent company but they still stay competitive against rivals in their segment with superlative brand cachet. It barks its presence with sheer authority. Prod the pedal and feel the haunches bristle with expectation. ‘Best of British’ sums up its credentials.
<div id="attachment_294" style="width: 310px" class="wp-caption alignleft"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-294" class="size-medium wp-image-294" src="/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/aston-martin-300x147.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="147" />Aston Martin, DBS</div>
This is a scale above mere utilitarian spec commonly found in ordinary tackle, where one can actually see the millions it costs.
Africans in South Africa make up the majority of buyers of these cars but I never see many on the road or in Soweto for that matter, save for the odd Bentley.
Further up the scale in opulence is the Rolls-Royce. Many, the quantifier many being relative in this instance, have found homes across Southern Africa, from Angola to Zambia.
McLaren’s newly-launched MP4-12C is a mouthful really so we’ll just call it the Mac, or Macca, as the English like to say. But it is a technical tour de force, crowned with plaudit upon plaudit by the world’s hacks lucky enough to drive it. At this level, manufacturers do not skimp on emphasizing their heritage or the emotional equivalent. Invariably, you will learn lots about the race car inspired development program, the car’s previous incarnations, exotic materials for some componentry, cutting-edge telemetry, and so on. And to think all two years of its South African supply has been spoken for!
It would be an injustice to leave out the Teutons when it comes to the power stakes for those running the sweepstakes. The Big Three’s power wars of the last decade have not been in vain. What they could not do in sheer design would be made up for with huge dollops of power. It is no surprise that they snuck up on the exotics and unleashed autobahn-shrinking vanishing acts, leaving lengthy skid marks somewhere in their wake. In the process, they even went one up on the Lambo door-act, bringing home yet more of their racing heritage reaching back to the 50s Silver Arrows and Auto Unions.
Of course, their Latinate brethren further south in Europe could never be undone. They occupy an unassailable place in the heart and minds of any petrol-head worth their, er, gas. They are truly beyond comparison, borne of intense need for speed and a desire to compete. See one pass, and watch jaws drop with sheer wonderment. The more common ones you might run into tend to be either red or speed yellow, and pass with a ferocious whine, leaving you gasping for an answer to a question nobody asked. WTF? Must be a Ferrari.
Now, I know the sun rises from the east, but then I would be eaten alive if I dared detail the similarities between Lamborghini’s first engine and Honda’s Formula 1 V12 engine of the 60s. And yes, Honda’s dithering over the NSX’s successor, developed by the world’s best Formula 1 driver of our time, Ayrton Senna, is tearing apart the hearts of enthusiasts who know it inspired McLaren’s F1—the world’s best sports car ever to some.
Nissan’s GTR35 (pronounced as Godzilla to the non-Japanese amongst us) will eat supercars for breakfast, lunch and dinner, while Lexus’s ode to Mount Fuji will more than hold its own against many a westerner. Cult cars come from the East. But then, Western aesthetic defines how we define sports cars.
For Porsche, looks are for those who like to look. While it may lack the others’ pulchritudinous qualities, it is by and large considered the most practical sports car ever made. The newly launched 911—all 48 years of its shape—will not see any real revision before 2025! It is first and foremost a designer’s car, singularly committed to the realization of one truth and the quintessential sports car. Derision greeted some of the company’s recent offerings—the ungainly proportions of a utilitarian crossover in the Cayenne and the bloated midriff of the Panamera. There will be more gnashing of teeth from self-appointed custodian enthusiasts when the brand launches hybrid versions of its newer line up. But they will once again go on to make Porsche the world’s most profitable sport car manufacturer.
Come to think of it; Ferdinand Porsche was a designer. He displayed in Paris the world’s first hub-centric hybrid system—electric motors to drive the front wheels. In 1901. This is technology that is only about to be adopted by virtually every car maker today. As early as 1904, he was supplying and building four-wheel drive technology for cars. He went on to design the world’s first mid-engine race cars. Then he sought to defy the laws of physics by placing a car’s engine way past the rear axle—just because he wanted to create a more practical sports car. To accommodate rear seats in his first sports coupe, he turned the engine around so it hung over the rear axle. Although no longer called widow-makers and tail happy (the pendulum effect) as a result of much development, 911s still inspire awe in many an enthusiast. And so perhaps there is indeed truth in the conclusion that Porsches are more about development than design. That appears to pervade the Porsche mystic at the company’s Zuffenhausen headquarters. Thank God for Peter Schultz who defied the sceptics in the mid-80s when they wanted to drop the 911 from the line-up. And so Porsche South Africa managing director, Toby Venter will have you believe—all roads lead to Porsche.
In these days of austerity and layoffs, some of these cars will make for more compelling buys. And for factory bosses and bankers everywhere, they are what Clifford Joffe calls permission buys. Workers will not go on strike, and governments will not be reconsidering tax laws upon seeing some of them. These cars are beginning to grace the roads across Africa, opening up new vistas of discovery for car enthusiasts, collectors and poseurs alike.

Tag: Aston Martin

FORBES AFRICA SOCIAL MEDIA

The Nearly $2 Million Aston Martin Valhalla Is A Gift From The Gods

Become An Angel To Avoid Investor Demons

Astons Are Forever

The Heart Of African Supercars

Holy Grille