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The new Aston Martin Vantage was just recently unveiled and not very long after Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE has been introduced. Aston Martin Vantage has been the biggest selling car in the British marque's history, and the new Vantage GTE will be a challenger in the new FIA World Endurance Championship. It replaces the Aston Martin Racing team's most successful competition car of all-time, the multiple Le Mans-winning V8 Vantage GTE. Here we've gotten together some images of the two which demonstrate a transition of the Vantage from a road car to a race car:
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New Aston Martin Vantage has a distinctive and bold design language, with a hint of aggression. New head and tail lights give the Vantage a prominent road presence. The new Aston Martin Vantage's design is mostly aerodynamics centric. And then there is the track focussed Vantage GTE – the new Vantage GTE takes the road car’s core design and dynamic capabilities to a whole new level through extensive optimisation of the powertrain, chassis and aerodynamics.
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Designed and engineered in-house at Aston Martin Racing’s headquarters in Banbury, the project is led by Technical Director Dan Sayers, who also guided the design and development of the current V8 Vantage GTE – the car credited with 37 of the team’s 51 international race victories, including two Le Mans 24 Hour class wins. The new Vantage too generates a significant level of downforce – a rarity on any production car and a first for a core production Aston Martin model.
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Though the new Vantage road car has only just been launched, development of the new Vantage GTE race car is well advanced, with more than 13,000km of testing completed, including a successful 30-hour run at the Spanish circuit of Navarra. The car has also been through a rigorous durability programme at the notoriously rough Sebring circuit in Florida. All of Aston Martin Racing’s current drivers have contributed to the test programme.
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The design theory also continues inside the new Vantage with a sports car cockpit that has sharp, focused lines underlining the aggressive nature of the car. A lower driving position has brought about a significant improvement in headroom compared with the outgoing Vantage. The interior also offers generous stowage space, with useable room behind the seats and double-tier storage areas. The Vantage GTE, on the other hand, obviously has a stripped down race car interior with bucket seats and a roll cage.
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The new Aston Martin Vantage is powered by a 4-litre twin-turbo V8 engine that makes 503 bhp at 6000 rpm and 685 Nm at 2000-5000 rpm. The engine unit is set low and as far back in the chassis as possible for optimal centre-of-gravity and perfect 50:50 weight distribution. A dry weight of 1530kg gives the Vantage spectacular power-to-weight and torque-to-weight ratios.
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The new Vantage deploys its power and torque to the rear wheels via a rear-mounted ZF eight-speed automatic transmission. Capable of accelerating from 0 to 100 km/h in 3.5 seconds and on to a maximum speed of 312 km/h, it employs a suite of integrated electronic systems to offer maximum control, including Dynamic Stability Control and Dynamic Torque Vectoring.
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The new Aston Martin Vantage features an array of standard equipment, including keyless start/stop, tyre pressure monitoring system, parking distance display, park assist and front and rear parking sensors. The In-Car Entertainment system – controlled and viewed via a centrally mounted 8” LCD screen – comprises of the Aston Martin Audio System, Bluetooth audio and phone streaming, iPod, iPhone and USB playback and an integrated satellite navigation system.
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Aston Martin Racing is working with new technical partners: Alcon for the braking system, Öhlins for the suspension and Michelin for a bespoke tyre programme to maximise the performance of the Vantage GTE. With a new car to develop, Aston Martin Racing has kept its highly experienced and successful driver line-up. This year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans GTE Pro class winners Darren Turner and Jonny Adam have been retained, as have the Danish duo and 2016 FIA WEC GTE Pro world champions, Nicki Thiim and Marco Sørensen.
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