An extreme work of modernity. Built from nothing, with zero precedent, to scream all the way up to 11,100 rpm. The most powerful naturally aspirated engine to grace any road car so far. So loud that every Aston Martin Valkyrie is delivered with helicopter-grade, noise-cancelling headphones to protect you from redlining your eardrums. But not deafening: an external mic on the outside of the car picks up sirens and other signals so you can hear the road through its 12-cylinder orchestra. How did we build something so impossibly powerful?

By starting impossibly small. Cosworth took the idea of a humble straight three and effectively developed a quarter of an engine. This allowed them to test and develop the combustion system they wanted to use on a scaled-down and more precisely manageable platform. When everything from chamber shape to valve angles and compression ratio was perfected, they took the resulting straight three, put another end to end, then two more back to back, to create the basic configuration for this V12 marvel. This approach allowed us to ensure that both the power requirements and emissions levels we needed could be hit. And what a spine-searing, bone-rattling hit. The V12 packs 154 bhp per litre. Reaching a total output of 1130bhp, with KERS assistance. While weighing in at a mere 202kg. If you don’t quite believe your eyes reading that: as the power revs up to 10,000rpm, your vision literally begins to blur.