The Aston Martin Vantage GTE Racing Car Is Already Here

This week sees the launch of not one, but two Aston Martins. Earlier today we had the new Vantage road car, and now it’s the turn of the Vantage GTE racing car. Yep, it’s already here, and a development car already has over 8000 miles of testing under its belt.

Like the road car it’s powered by a 4.0-litre, Mercedes-AMG-sourced V8, but it swaps the wet sump lubrication setup for a more motorsport-friendly dry sump arrangement. Also for the chop is the eight-speed ZF gearbox and the electronically-controlled differential: instead, the GTE uses a six-speed sequential gearbox from Xtrac, plus a mechanical limited-slip differential.

The engine has been slightly repositioned in the name of weight distribution, and makes some awfully loud noises via an Akrapovic exhaust made from inconel.

On the braking front, the GTE gets Alcon stoppers with six-pot callipers at the front and four-pot items at the rear, while at each corner you’ll find an Ohlins five-way adjustable damper. The bodywork - including the massive rear wing, diffuser and front splitter - is mostly made from carbonfibre, helping the racier Vantage hit the 1245kg FIA-regulated weight figure.

Want to see it driven in anger? You won’t have to wait long: the GTE will make its racing debut in the 2018 World Endurance Car season, driven by Darren Turner, Jonny Adam, Nicki Thiim, Marco Sørensen and others as part of the Aston Martin Racing works outfit.