Aston Martin Planning All New GTE, GT3 Cars for 2018

Photo: John Dagys

Aston Martin will roll out with updates to both its GTE and GT3-spec Vantages next year, ahead of all-new cars for 2018, the British manufacturer has confirmed.

AMR team principal John Gaw revealed to Sportscar365 that its current generation Vantage V8 will continue in the GTE ranks in 2016, despite the launch of new regulations, which will see new cars from most manufacturers.

Gaw said the GTE car, first introduced in 2008, will go through an evolution that will include aerodynamic, mechanical and safety updates to conform to the new regulations.

“Physically it will be a big [change] because the car will look different, but mechanically it will be small,” Gaw told Sportscar365.

“The design is done because we need to have the car ready for the BoP test in September. We start cutting parts straight after [Spa].”

While the regulations have yet to be officially released, the new-look GTE class will see roughly a 5 percent boost in power, increased safety measures such as an emergency escape hatch on the roof, as well as tighter control on technical waivers.

The 2016-spec V12 Vantage GT3, meanwhile, will take styling cues from revised GTE car, which is expected to begin on-track testing shortly after the 24 Hours of Le Mans next month.

“I think the cars will be aggressive and quite nice to look at,” Gaw said. “They’ll be a lot quicker as well. There will be a big jump in performance, I think.”

Gaw said the existing Aston GTE chassis can be upgraded, preventing the need of building all-new chassis for next year, and therefore extending the life of the current cars by a considerable margin.

“The most important thing is the stability int he rules,” he said. “Paul [Dalla Lana] is a great example. He bought a car from Aston Martin in 2013.

“It’s still the same chassis and it will be the same chassis next year if he decides to continue, and 2017 as well. That’s five years.

“OK, there’s been some updates every year but that’s as good value for money as motorsport can bring you.”

While the updated Vantages in both GTE and GT3 will be legal for more than two years, Gaw confirmed plans for Aston Martin to roll out with all new race cars, built around the road-going successor to the Vantage, in 2018.

The production car is expected to be break cover at the Geneva Motor Show next year, ahead of a late 2017 launch.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John