The new Aston Martin Vantage GT3

This week Aston Martin announced plans for its latest racecar, the Vantage GT3.  The new competition machine will be loosely based on the road going Vantage V12’s aluminum chassis and V12 power plant and that’s about where the similarities end.

The Vantage GT3 will feature a dry sump 6.0-liter V12 with a performance target of 600 horsepower (447 Kw) & 516 ft/lbs (700 Nm) of torque. The new V12 will be coupled to an Xtrac semi-automatic paddle-shift racing gearbox. The Aston Martin GT3 will be equipped with the latest race derived traction control and ABS systems.  Target weight for the new car is 1250 Kg (2755 lbs).  Not wanting to show their hand too early, the remaining non-spec details are secret.  In fact the only official photograph is the small, shadowy rendering above. 

Although successful, the six year old DBRS9 is getting rather long in the tooth. According to John Gaw, Aston Martin’s Racing Managing Director, “…the competition has moved on and we needed to create a new car that combines our six years’ experience in this category with the latest race technology to continue Aston Martin’s success in GT3 for many years to come.”

Aston Martin should complete the first Vantage GT3 this July and will spend the rest of 2011 testing and developing the all-new racer.  Ten customer GT3’s are planned and should be in privateers’ hands by the start of the 2012 FIA racing season.

No word on what gentleman racers will pay for the new Vantage GT3, nor any comment on a whether a road-going version will see production to challenge the Porsche GT3 at armature track days all over the world.