Aston Martin to Defend Le Mans Victory in All New Vantage GTE
The all-new Aston Martin Vantage broke cover today, but the British automaker was just getting started with the new product debuts.
Also being shown by Aston today is the all-new, 2018 Vantage GTE racecar. It will be the automaker’s new challenger for the FIA World Endurance Championship’s GTE class and will replace the multi-time Le Mans 24 Hour winning V8 Vantage GTE. It’s built to GTE-specifications, which are similar but ultimately faster than the more commonplace GT3 cars. It will feature a race-spec version of the 4.0-liter AMG V8 found in the road car along with all other necessary racing equipment including an FIA-spec rollcage, fire suppressing equipment and a roof escape hatch.
Aston Martin and its factory drivers have been working on hard developing the new Vantage GTE and ensuring its up to the grueling task of endurance racing. The team completed two 30-hour tests at the Navarra circuit in Spain and the Sebring circuit in Florida, which together covered more than 13,000 km. The team will retain its Le Mans-winning lineup of Darren Turner and Jonny Adam for the 2018 racing season, along with the Danish duo and 2016 FIA WEC GTE Pro world champions of Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen. Former GP2 driver and Formula E racer Alex Lynn has been confirmed as well.
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“It’s terrific to be involved in this exciting new chapter for Aston Martin Racing,” said Aston Martin Racing boss John Gaw. “The increasingly tough competition in the GTE class and the prospect of two visits to Le Mans and a return to Sebring within the 2018/19 super-season is thoroughly tantalising. To conduct the development process of this car so closely with Aston Martin’s design and engineering teams was essential for both road and race car to retain the same underlying DNA. We believe the Vantage GTE will bring further success worldwide to Aston Martin Racing in the coming years.”
Look for the new Vantage GTE on track in the FIA WEC starting in 2018.
Discuss this story on our Aston Martin forum.
Sam McEachern holds a diploma in journalism from St. Clair College in Windsor, Ontario, and has been covering the automotive industry for over 5 years. He conducts reviews and writes AutoGuide's news content. He's a die-hard motorsports fan with a passion for performance cars of all sorts.
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