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Written by Stephen Dobie
Still not sure about the new Aston Martin Vantage? Mere hours later, this is the racing version, to really shock you.The big story is that it was developed in parallel with the road car. "Like the Ford GT," you might be thinking, but we suspect this is a more evenly split effort between race and road.Just like the GT, though, it will compete in the GTE class of endurance racing. The V8 Vantage GTE it replaces has 37 race wins including two class victories at Le Mans to its name.It also sounded absolutely incredible, its thunderous V8 outstripping all but the Corvettes during the flying start of an endurance race. The top-level hybrid prototypes stood no chance. While the new car employs turbocharging, its 4.0-litre V8 comes from AMG, so we reckon it"ll titillate racegoers" ears just as much.The new Vantage road car makes 503bhp and 505lb ft, but its circuit cousin is rated at 530bhp-plus and 516lb ft-plus. Balance of Performance rules make more specific figures hard to quote. Either way, that power drives the rear wheels through a six-speed Xtrac sequential gearbox, and there"s a mechanical limited-slip differential in place of the road car"s electronic E-Diff.Lots of lightweight components help it weigh 1,245kg (a regulated figure), down significantly on the 1,530kg road going Vantage. There are bespoke Michelin tyres, while Alcon and Ohlins have supplied the brakes and suspension.While the road car has its own devilishly clever aerodynamic setup, the race car goes much further. There"s a spoiler tall enough to induce acrophobia. A rear diffuser that"ll trip up (and quite possibly swallow whole) stray toddlers. Aggressive air intakes puncture the smooth bonnet of the road car, too.
Date written: 21 Nov 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 10047
Still not sure about the new Aston Martin Vantage? Mere hours later, this is the racing version, to really shock you.The big story is that it was developed in parallel with the road car. "Like the Ford GT," you might be thinking, but we suspect this is a more evenly split effort between race and road.Just like the GT, though, it will compete in the GTE class of endurance racing. The V8 Vantage GTE it replaces has 37 race wins including two class victories at Le Mans to its name.It also sounded absolutely incredible, its thunderous V8 outstripping all but the Corvettes during the flying start of an endurance race. The top-level hybrid prototypes stood no chance. While the new car employs turbocharging, its 4.0-litre V8 comes from AMG, so we reckon it"ll titillate racegoers" ears just as much.The new Vantage road car makes 503bhp and 505lb ft, but its circuit cousin is rated at 530bhp-plus and 516lb ft-plus. Balance of Performance rules make more specific figures hard to quote. Either way, that power drives the rear wheels through a six-speed Xtrac sequential gearbox, and there"s a mechanical limited-slip differential in place of the road car"s electronic E-Diff.Lots of lightweight components help it weigh 1,245kg (a regulated figure), down significantly on the 1,530kg road going Vantage. There are bespoke Michelin tyres, while Alcon and Ohlins have supplied the brakes and suspension.While the road car has its own devilishly clever aerodynamic setup, the race car goes much further. There"s a spoiler tall enough to induce acrophobia. A rear diffuser that"ll trip up (and quite possibly swallow whole) stray toddlers. Aggressive air intakes puncture the smooth bonnet of the road car, too.
Date written: 21 Nov 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 10047