Aston Martin has confirmed its intention to enter the FIA World Endurance Championship's new hypercar class for the 2020/21 season.
WEC confirmed its hypercar plans on Friday, which will allow manufacturers and privateers to run road-going hypercars in the top category, as it looks to expand the series and attract new entrants.
Aston Martin will line-up on the grid in 2020 with "at least two works Valkyrie race cars", the manufacturer announced on the 60th anniversary of its 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans victory.
The Valkyrie is a joint development between Aston Martin and Red Bull Advanced Technologies to create the world's quickest road-going car.
The version that will compete in the WEC and Le Mans will be a track-only AMR Pro version, and will feature a race-prepared version of its bespoke high-revving normally-aspirated 6.5-litre V12 engine, which will be placed within a lightweight carbon fibre structure featuring F1 inspired aerodynamic technology.
"The FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans represent the ultimate challenge for the Aston Martin Valkyrie – the world’s most extreme hypercar," said Aston Martin Vice President and Chief Special Operations Officer, David King.
"Designed and built with the purpose of pushing boundaries on the road, it’s natural to conclude that the next stage in its development would be to measure its capabilities on the track. I can think of no better way to do that than to compete in a world championship and the most prestigious and famous race of all."
Aston Martin Lagonda President and Group CEO, Andy Palmer, added: "We have always said that we would one day bring Aston Martin back to Le Mans with the intention of going for the outright win when the time was right – now is that time.
"David Brown came here in 1959, with a car and a team of drivers capable of winning. We intend to do the same in 2021.
"The Aston Martin Valkyrie is primed for such a challenge and sits perfectly within the ACO’s new ‘hypercar’ rule framework. Bringing to bear all of our previous experience and knowledge of competing at the top levels of motorsport, we embark on this most ambitious project with the necessary ingredients for success. What could be more evocative than the wail of an Aston Martin V12 leading the charge into the night on the Mulsanne straight?"
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