Aston Martin Eyes 2027 Valkyrie LMH Upgrade as Evo Joker Talks Intensify

Aston Martin could introduce its first major upgrade package for the Valkyrie Le Mans Hypercar in 2027, with The Heart of Racing team principal Ian James confirming that discussions are under way over the use of evo jokers.

Reliability Is Not Yet Translating Into Results

The Valkyrie has established a strong reliability record so far in both championships, but competitive returns have remained limited. Its only podium to date was a second-place finish in last year’s IMSA finale at Petit Le Mans, underlining the gap between durability and outright performance.

“We have ideas that will help us where we see the weakness of the car,” James said. “With the way the class has evolved, it just shows that maybe it is not as the concept was originally [intended], that you can keep the same car and it will get capped in the performance window. Recently, you saw the announcement that Ferrari is bringing a raft of changes.”

He added: “I think we are going to have to do something. Exactly what we are going to do right now is not defined, but we are going to see what weaknesses we can address.”

2026 Carryover Before a Bigger 2027 Push

Aston Martin carried over last year’s Valkyrie LMH into 2026, maintaining that it wanted to extract more from the existing platform before committing to larger revisions. Apart from newcomer Genesis, it remains the only GTP/Hypercar manufacturer yet to deploy evo jokers for prototype development.

Factory driver Ross Gunn said the team is actively working through the areas that need attention, with driver feedback feeding into the process.

“Everything is in the works. There are things we are looking at to work on,” Gunn said. “As drivers, we just try to give feedback on the areas in the car we can improve. In IMSA, we struggle a little bit more on street tracks and on bumpy tracks, so maybe that is an area we are really looking at.”

He added that development is being controlled by Multimatic, James and Aston Martin, who are working toward potential future improvements.

At Le Mans last weekend, the best of the two non-hybrid Valkyries finished eighth, several minutes behind the winning Toyota, after struggling with excessive aero drag. That result sharpened the sense that Aston Martin’s next major step may need to arrive in 2027.