Fernando Alonso loves manual gearboxes... but 'never' drives one

TopGear.com recently sat down with Aston Martin F1 driver Fernando Alonso at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, fresh from him thrashing the new 734bhp Valiant supercar up the hill…

TG: How did the Valiant come about?

FA: I mean firstly I wanted a Valour, but then I asked if it could be a little bit different. I'm a big fan of aero disc [wheels] and some other features on road cars, and I asked the team if they could make a special version for me.

Obviously the aero discs and rear wing were not homologated for the Valour, plus the lightweight materials… so when we reviewed the list of things that I would love to change, they said, ‘okay, maybe it's better to make a fully new car with a new name, and we just make a limited edition'.

Then from that point we started working on some aerodynamic devices as the Valiant has more power and less weight – everything a racing driver loves to have.

How often do you drive a manual?

Never!

So why does your perfect road car have a manual gearbox?

Because I grew up driving manuals in my younger categories. The Formula Nissan, before Formula 2 was manual. And I think this is a collectible car and it's something that I want to drive in five, ten, fifteen years time and have the feeling of how everything started.

My passion for driving road cars started when I got my license – I waited for a long time. Since you’re 14 or 15, you are waiting for the day that you are 18 and finally you can drive cars. That first moment that you have the freedom, being alone on a car and taking the highway or going to a restaurant on your own is something that you don't forget. Plus, having the manual with a V12 is something that I think has more appeal than having a normal automatic.

How often do you get to drive road cars?

Every day. I live in Monaco, so I use maybe more scooters than cars, but I still drive – every single week we are traveling, so I need to take my car to the airport. I leave it there, I take it on Sunday back home. I have an Aston Martin DBX, and the thing I love is that car has no roll, no pitch, the platform is super-stable and that always surprised me.

So you’ll get one of the 38 Valiants, but what other cars are in your collection?

I have an old Aston Martin DTM car from 2019. Obviously I [will] have a Valkyrie – hopefully it’s going to be delivered in two weeks’ time – my birthday is 29 July so hopefully that’s good timing! Now the Valiant is one of the toys I’ll have… and I’m also looking for a DB5. I’m in contact with the heritage team – I’m in the moment of my life where I’m really looking forward to having a small collection, and Aston Martin is known for highly collectible cars.

I’ve always been a big fan of Aston Martin. I think lately it's a step up from the past, but I think the brand is still very exclusive. Some of the luxury brands that I worked for in the past went into a different direction: bigger numbers. I like these type of luxury cars to be exclusive and [companies] to treat the customer like unique customers, so you are very special to them.

What spec have you gone for on your Valkyrie?

The hard-top coupe – and I just went for the Formula One colours. The Valkyrie is the closest thing to an F1 car and I drive the Aston Martin F1 car every two weeks so I wanted to closest thing to that – exactly the same green with the touches of lime.

Is there any truth to the rumours you are in fact the next James Bond?

I would love to… but I’m maybe not that good at acting. Maybe for the stunt driving, the most dangerous parts of the movie…