The Aston Martin Vantage GTE makes it’s track debut…
Let’s rewind back to late November when we told you about the Aston Martin Vantage GTE.
It’s a track-only take on the instantly iconic sports car and it has just made its long-awaited debut in the 2018/19 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) Super Season at the Total 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps.
The GTE uses the same four-litre Mercedes-AMG V8 turbocharged engine as the road car, but power output has been cranked up from 503bhp to more than 530bhp, while torque climbs from 687Nm to 699Nm. All of this is then chucked through a six-speed Xtrac sequential gearbox, while a whole host of racy styling has been slapped on the exterior.
In its standard form, the Vantage can blast off to 62mph in 3.6 seconds and that extra 30bhp or so will only help it out on the track. Find out more on the road-going Vantage
Destined for glory?
The GTE has undergone an exhaustive ten-month testing and development programme covering 35,000km and 14 different circuits, including Rockingham, Snetterton and Monza.
So, understandably, the team is confident that it has a competitive and reliable car capable of repeating Aston Martin Racing’s 2017 Le Mans 24 Hours triumph from June and contending for the overall Super Season GTE Pro title.
Tasked with piloting the GTE to glory will be a world-class driving line-up comprising three-time Le Mans winner Darren Turner and 2016 FIA WEC GTE Pro champions Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen. Meanwhile, 2017 Le Mans winner Jonny Adam shares the #97 entry with DTM and Spa 24 Hours race winner Maxime Martin and Formula 1 test driver and Formula E racer Alex Lynn. All you need to know about the Vantage GTE.
Speaking ahead of the car’s FIA WEC debut, Aston Martin Racing’s technical director Dan Sayers said he “can’t wait to get started now. We have delivered our most extensive testing programme with the Vantage GTE, optimising every aspect of the car – this has been a huge undertaking and a fantastic effort by the whole team”.
Vice president and chief special operations officer David King added: “Endurance racing defines the very character of our sports and GT cars and they remain the best-looking cars on the grid, as always.”
We couldn’t agree more. Even without all the flashy racing garb, the Vantage GTE is truly droolworthy but what do you think? Let us know down in the comments.
New Era for Aston Martin Vantage:
The 2024 Aston Martin Vantage is here, and it’s more powerful than ever. With a stunning 656bhp V8 engine, this car is built for those who crave speed and luxury. Explore the new 2024 Vantage features here.
For more articles like this, receive our weekly e-newsletter, including partner deals and all things motoring, register your email below.
Please note: You cannot subscribe to Smart-Motoring unless you put a tick in the checkbox below to indicate have read and agreed to our privacy policy.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.