The RA is a 6.5-litre, naturally-aspirated V12 engine, commissioned by Adrian Newey, and designed, developed and produced by Cosworth for the Aston Martin Valkyrie sports car.

According to Cosworth, it is intended to be "evoking the spine-tingling, ultra-high-revving F1 engines of the 1990s, but benefitting from two decades of progress in design, material and manufacturing expertise."

Red Bull’s Chief Technical Officer, Adrian Newey, specially delivered his brief to Cosworth, with the aim being to build the ultimate internal combustion engine.

Cosworth's aim was to create the most powerful naturally-aspirated road engine ever, while meeting strict and often conflicting requirements in terms of durability, weight, emissions regulations.

Cosworth initially developed a 1.6-litre three-cylinder prototype (one-fourth of the Valkyrie's V12 engine) to make the combustion system hardware, which on its own was good for 250 hp (186 kW; 253 PS).

The engine was also subjected to reliability and durability tests, comparable to those used on Cosworth's mass production units, typically 200 hours of hard running that equated to around 100,000 km (62,000 mi.)

Not only does this authorise the utilisation of materials with ideal properties, but the intricate manufacturing procedure means better consistency and parts designed for minimal mass and maximal strength.