Aston Martin Reveals New Vantage GTE

Photo: Aston Martin

Aston Martin Racing revealed on Tuesday the new-generation Vantage GTE it will campaign in the FIA World Endurance Championship beginning next season.

It is based on the new Vantage road car, unveiled earlier in the day, and will make its race debut in the WEC next year.

The new car, which features a Mercedes-AMG four-liter turbocharged V8 engine, has already completed more than 8,000 miles of testing including a 30-hour run at Navarra and further outings at Sebring.

“Designing and developing this new car has been an extremely satisfying process,” said Aston Martin Racing technical director Dan Sayers.

“We’ve collaborated closely with the Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters to develop the road and race cars in parallel. Attention to detail has been a priority at every step of this process and we’ve made big improvements in each area of the car.

“We’ve spent every second optimizing the design right until the build of our test car, which has paid dividends during our current testing schedule. This project has been one of the most intensive but also rewarding of my career so far.”

The Vantage GTE will make its race debut in the WEC season-opening round at Spa-Francorchamps in May next year ahead of running the full ‘Super Season.’

“It’s terrific to be involved in this exciting new chapter for Aston Martin Racing,” said AMR managing director 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 tantalizing.

“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.”

Switch to Michelin Confirmed

As revealed by Sportscar365 last week, Aston Martin has confirmed its switch Michelin tires after two seasons on Dunlops.

It had been the only manufacturer running on Dunlop rubber in the GTE-Pro class this year.

The car had conducted its initial development on Dunlops prior to a switch to the French tire giant in recent weeks.

Jake Kilshaw

Jake Kilshaw is a UK-based journalist. He is a graduate of Politics and International Relations.