Aston Martin Reveals Evo-Spec Vantage GT3

Aston Martin has officially unveiled its updated, Evo-specification Vantage GT3 ahead of the car’s FIA World Endurance Championship debut in Qatar.

The new car, which will remain known as the Aston Martin Vantage GT3 according to the British marque, was launched alongside the newest version of the Vantage road car.

First announced back in October, the new car is a “comprehensive evolution” of the previous Vantage GT3, which debuted back in 2018.

Powered by a 4.0-liter twin-turbocharged V8 engine, the updated car features an all-new aerodynamic package as well as revised suspension.

The car was developed as part of a collaborative effort between Aston Martin Racing and the Silverstone-based Aston Martin Performance Technologies (AMPT) division, which is also working on the Valkyrie LMH program.

“The new GT3 is our first opportunity to use AMPT to play a role in leveraging the capabilities, attitude and methodologies of all of Aston Martin’s various nerve centers, which we’ve then combined with the unrivaled GT program management expertise of AMR,” said Adam Carter, Aston Martin’s head of Endurance Motorsport.

“The GT racing program will serve as a development lab that will lead to an increasing transfer of knowledge and approach into future Aston Martin road cars.”

The development of the car, which featured a 30-hour endurance test, was undertaken by both Aston Martin factory drivers as well as selected amateur drivers.

A notable feature of the new car is the updated front end, which was already visible when the car made its racing debut in the hands of The Heart of Racing and Magnus Racing during the recent Rolex 24 at Daytona.

The redesign allowed Aston Martin to increase the volume of ducted cooling air to the brakes, allowing for more consistent performance.

The nose is a one-piece clamshell constructed out of carbon fiber, which features the kind of quick-release design that has become more common with the latest generation of GT3 machinery.

This facilitates rapid removal and replacement in the event of damage and houses a full-width laser light and shorter splitter, which moves the center of pressure rearwards to reduce pitch sensitivity and aid stability.

Both the front and rear of the car feature new louvres, with those at the front aimed at reducing lift while those at the rear are designed to tackle drag.

“These new generation GT3 cars are more dependent than ever on aerodynamic downforce, so we wanted to make the car more stable under braking,” said Gus Beteli, AMR’s Head of Performance.

“The old car would dive a lot under braking, so we had to try and control the pitch with the rear suspension set-up. But this meant it was stiff, which made it quite snappy and, also over-worked the tires.

“Working heavily on damper tuning, we have found a much better balance with the new car so we can generate the downforce without compromising the suspension setup.

“The result is much-improved progression and greater stability in all conditions. It also works its tires much more evenly, so teams have more options on strategy.

“The feedback from drivers who’ve tested it has been overwhelmingly positive. Especially the amateur racers, who have been able to achieve lap times that are much closer to the Pros. Now we need to go racing!”

In addition to the WeatherTech Championship, the new Vantage GT3 has been confirmed to compete in WEC with Heart of Racing and D’station Racing as well as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS with Comtoyou Racing and Walkenhorst Motorsport.

Aston Martin has stated that it expects as many as 30 Vantage GT3s to be actively racing by the end of this year, with a base price of £575,000 ($726,000 USD).