A new generation of racing is coming from Aston Martin Racing with the announcement of a new GT3 and GT4 Vantage, that will be available to customer teams as of 2019. The new fleet of cars will be based on Aston Martin’s new Vantage, racing in GTE Pro and Am at this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
Aston Martin had a brilliant send off to their previous version of the Vantage in WEC, claiming class victory in the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans with a breath-taking wheel-to-wheel battle in the closing stages.
The outgoing V12 Vantage GT3 and V8 Vantage GT4 represent some of AMR’s most successful years of racing. Customer GT3 and GT4 teams have competed in many championships across the world, claiming championships and wins in British GT, Blancpain GT Endurance Series, Blancpain GT Asian Series and North European GT4. The 12-year heritage that they represent is hoped to progress into the new cars, with more victories and memorable races on the horizon.
This marks the end of the V12-era in Aston’s customer racing, as the new cars will both run 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged engines. The GT3 will be more alike the GTE than it has been before, as the design logic from the WEC car has been drawn on heavily in developing the GT3.
The new Vantages will be homologated for racing occurring after the 1st March, 2019. The orders for the new cars are already pouring into the British manufacturer.
On the announcement of the new racing range, Managing Director John Gaw commented, “We are very proud of the heritage we have established as a leading supplier of customer GT cars, with customers racing our cars all around the world.
“We told the clients who first purchased our GT3 cars seven years ago, that they would be buying a car that would be capable of winning races for years to come. This year we have already proved that with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3’s successes in the British GT Championship. That longevity is something that separates us from other manufacturers.
“I expect the new GT3 and GT4 to be just as competitive as the cars they are replacing and to remain so for a similar period of time.”
“In motorsport the qualities you’re most striving for are a competitive edge, driveability and the durability to deliver upon it.” David King, Aston Martin Racing President, added. “We’ve been able to deliver this to our customers for more than a decade with our Vantage GT4 and more recently with the V12 Vantage GT3.
“In the new Vantage GT3 and GT4, we intend to build on those attributes as well as continuing to deliver the best looking cars in the paddock.”
