Aston Martin Vantage GT8 to make Bathurst race debut

Inspired by the V8 Vantage GTE cars, Aston Martin Vantage GT8 to run at Mount Panorama in February

Racing News

12/12/2016

Aston Martin recently announced that the Vantage GT8 will be making its debut at the upcoming Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour race with R-Motorsports.

“We are extremely proud and honored that a long-time relationship with Darren has led to this very exciting project to compete at Mount Panorama in such an iconic GT race car. Going back to Bathurst for the third time is an exciting prospect for all of us,” said Florian Kamelger, team boss.

Aston Martin works driver, Darren Turner, will lead the charge and will also be joined by one of the R-Motorsport team owners namely, Florian Kamelger, and Markus Lungstrass. R-Motorsport is the racing arm of Aston Martin St. Gallen as well as Aston Martin Racing’s representative in Europe.

“The car is very rewarding to drive and it gives you the confidence to push from the word ‘go’. I’m looking forward to joining R-Motorsport for this race and driving with Florian and Markus,” said Turner.

Inspired by the V8 Vantage GTE cars, Aston Martin claims that the limited edition sports car with only 150 units all sold out, is the lightest and most track-oriented V8 models among the Vantage range. It gets a carbon fiber bodykit which can be specified with the optional Aero Pack for improved downforce. Lightweight five-spoke 19-inch alloy wheels also come as standard on the GT8 and are wrapped in Michelin Pilot Super Sport Cup 2 tires.

At the heart of the GT8 is a 4.7-liter V8 that produces 446 PS at 7300 rpm and 490 Nm of torque at 5000 rpm. Married to a 6-speed manual gearbox, the GT8 is capable of sprinting from 0 - 97 km/h of 4.4 seconds. Top speed is rated at 305 km/h. Available as an option is the 7-speed Sportshift automated-manual transmission.

In early 2016, the previous model had already made its debut at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. However, despite not being able to finish the race due to an accident damage, the car led the SP8 class and took pole position for the race.

The Aston Martin Vantage GT8 will be running in February at Mount Panorama in New South Wales, Australia.