Aston Martin’s new V6 will power its future

Last time Aston Martin built its own engine, it was the 1960s. Tadek Marek was the man of the hour, having designed the Aston Martin V8 that would reign in the brand’s sports cars from the DBS V8 until the Virage of the 1990s.

Given the incredibly long lifespan of Marek’s V8 design, albeit tweaked along the way, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to expect another engine developed entirely by Aston Martin to last for quite some time, even if not across four decades. The rate of progress hasn’t exactly slowed.

The next big thing for Aston Martin’s powertrains might be already here in that case. And it’s not a V8. Or a V12. Aston Martin has built a V6.

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Dubbed TM01, in honour of the aforementioned creator of the Aston Martin V8, the turbo 3.0-litre V6 has been developed entirely in-house and is destined to be the soul of the Aston Martin Valhalla.

Joerg Ross, chief engineer and thus the man in charge of the powertrain’s development, says that if Aston Martin is to create a new engine completely on its own, the final product must be something worth being a spiritual successor to the original V8 developed in 1968.

“We wanted to create something that is befitting of the TM01 nameplate and create something that would have impressed our predecessor and pioneering engineer, Tadek Marek.”

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Aston Martin therefore seems to be relying quite heavily on this being its next primary engine, with Ross calling it “the future” of the brand.

“Putting a team together to deliver what is going to be the future power of Aston Martin has been an honour. From the very beginning, we have had the freedom to explore and innovate in a way that we have not been able to do so in a very long time.”

Aston Martin is still working on the development of TM01 with the most recent public announcement having been that dyno testing was successful, but no power outputs were revealed. What is known is that the dry-sumped engine will be part of an electrified powertrain and will be configured in a compact hot-vee package to allow it to be used effectively to keep the Valhalla’s weight distribution manageable.

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Aston Martin says the engine will weigh less than 200kg when employed in the mid-engine supercar. Aston Martin also says the entire system will be “the most powerful in the range” once it’s released.

Four Fast Facts: Aston Martin's V6

From scratch

Aston Martin has completely designed this engine in-house, something the brand hasn’t done since the ‘60s. Aston also states clearly that there’s no relation between the Valkyrie’s Cosworth V12 and this V6.

Veeling hot

A hot-vee engine design places the turbochargers within the valley of the two cylinder banks, allowing the heat from the engine to keep the turbochargers responsive while still allowing air to come through from somewhere cooler.

Helping hand

The Valhalla’s drivetrain will be electrified, but Aston Martin still hasn’t revealed details of the hybrid system. There’s also the possibility it will use a plug-in system, but that’s only been hinted by Aston. Rest assured, it won’t feel like a Prius.

Top of the food chain

Aston says the Valhalla will be the most potent in its range, meaning the hybrid V6 will outgun the 533kW/900Nm DBS Superleggera’s V12, though this doesn’t explain where the ‘halo model’ Valkyrie sits.

Still think a V6 can’t be good enough for a car like the Valhalla? Check out our list of the greatest V6s to be proven wrong!