Chris Harris has already driven the Aston Martin Vantage GT12 in full race mode and now we have his review of the GT12 road car.
Pro tip: turn up the volume to 11!
Category: Aston Martin
The next James Bond movie, Spectre, is due for Australian release on 12 November. Here’s a quick look at the latest trailer, which also includes a few appearances from Bond’s new car, the Aston Marton DB10.
Also included is a behind the scenes look at the DB10 and its nemesis the stillborn Jaguar C-X75.
Those Red Bull–Aston Martin rumours won’t go away, no matter how much Niki Lauda wants them to. However, any connection with Red Bull and Aston Martin has taken a twist with word an Adrian Newey-designed road car is expected to be launched in the next few years; 2018 seems to be the year bandied about.
If we’re to believe media reports, Newey and Aston Martin are already working together on an extreme hypercar to take on the likes of the McLaren P1 GTR and the Ferrari FXX K.
The partnership is with Red Bull Technologies, which is separate to the F1 team, so any dreams Christian Horner may have of securing the dominant Mercedes engine for the 2016 RB12 would seem premature.
In an interview with Autocar during the recent Goodwood Festival of Speed, Horner confirmed a Red Bull road car is possible.
“It’s something that Adrian is keen to do as a legacy project,” he said. “At the moment our focus is on being a Formula 1 constructor, but as we see more technology cross over with the road car market, it’s something that will organically grow.”
As for any Aston Martin involvement in Formula 1, well, you probably can’t rule out a pairing with Red Bull because crazy shit happens in F1 all the time. But more likely is that Aston Martin will leverage off its existing connection with Mercedes and join forces with one of Mercedes’ existing customer teams: Williams, Force India or Lotus.
[Source: Autocar]
It was another dismal weekend of racing for Daniel Ricciardo at the British Grand Prix. He was forced to retire on lap 22 with electrical problems.
He more than anyone would have enjoyed the recent report from Autocar suggesting Red Bull Racing could cast Renault aside in favour of a new partnership with Aston Martin Racing. The most obvious benefit of such a union would be the connection Aston Martin has with AMG and the hope that Red Bull could use the seemingly unstoppable Mercedes-Benz engine.
Alas, any such hope has been dashed after Niki Lauda, Mercedes AMG F1 non-executive chairman, rubbished the rumour in no uncertain terms.
“There’s not even a discussion. No discussion at all,” implored Lauda. “I haven’t heard anything from them and we never talked about it. I have breakfast every morning with Helmut [Marko] so I should know.
“We never thought about it because we have four teams running our engines, so we don’t even have capacity.”
More damning comments came from an unnamed Mercedes AMG F1 spokesperson who slammed Red Bull’s treatment of current engine partner Renault: “Red Bull have been asking [for engines] since February 2014—they ring up every week! If you see how they’ve treated Renault they are not a good partner to have…”
Oh well Daniel, there’s always 2016. At least that’s the final year of the Renault contract. Fingers crossed for 2017, maybe?!
[Source: Motorsport.com]
UPDATE: It seems Niki and Toto Wolff, Mercedes AMG team principal, aren’t on the same page. Wolff telling Autosport that he’s “leaving the door open” to discussing a deal with Red Bull.
Chris Harris and his cameraman Neil Carey take us deep into the world of the 2015 Nürburgring 24 Hour race. The star of the show is the production-based Aston Martin GT12.
“Watching a car being driven fast around here is one of the great spectator experiences,” claims Harris.
I believe him.
I’m yet to watch an N24, but I have seen cars be tested within an inch of their life during Industry Pool sessions. It is a pleasure to watch. Witnessing a grid full of GT3 cars fighting for every inch of tarmac would be awe inspiring.
Enjoy this clip. It’s a good one. And how awesome does that GT12 sound!
[Thanks to Jono for the tip]
Straight from the race’s official YouTube channel here’s a collection of videos bringing you the highlights from yesterday’s 24 Hours of Le Mans won by the #19 Porsche 919 Hybrid.
The first clip, a 20 minute special, includes podium celebrations from all four classes as well. Everyone’s a winner!
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Aston Martin Vulcan revealed
This crazy looking thing is the new Aston Martin Vulcan. Top name! It’s a track-only limited edition (just 24 will be made) and is powered by a 7.0 litre V12 engine.
“Aston Martin Vulcan is, by its very nature, a rare and thrilling supercar,” declared CEO, Dr Andy Palmer. “Designed and engineered to deliver a genuinely bespoke driving experience that draws on our rich heritage, this car tailors its power and handling to both the capabilities of the driver and the characteristics of the track.
“A sports car for true sports car lovers, I believe the Aston Martin Vulcan—and the unique ownership programme that sits behind it—sets a whole new standard in the ultra-high luxury supercar class.”
The preparatory driver training program will commence in 2016 and features Aston Martin’s factory racing driver Darren Turner. Customers will start with lesser models such as the V12 Vantage S and One-77 road cars and the Vantage GT4 race car. And then, of course, they will finally graduate to the mighty Vulcan!
The Vulcan will be on public display at the Geneva Motor Show this week.
Here’s a couple of independent videos that give us a closer look at the new Aston Martin Vantage GT3. The first video is from Autocar and features Marek Reichman, Aston’s design director, while the second is from Xcar and doesn’t.
Aston Martin has released images of its limited-edition road-going Vantage GT3. Full details are being held back for now, but we know the 6.0 litre V12 will be good for around 600hp and the kerb weight will be close to 1565kg, some 100kg less than a V12 Vantage S.
Only 100 Vantage GT3s will be made and we reckon if the market reacts well, and why wouldn’t it, that Aston could consider making a GT3 a permanent part of future model lines.
The bodykit and massive rear wing is a little OTT for an Aston, but falls in line with what you’d expect from a model wearing a GT3 badge. Because racecar.
Some of the race-inspired handiwork under the bonnet includes magnesium inlet manifolds and a full titanium exhaust system. That aggressive body work goes to town on carbon fibre use. Further, the roof can be optioned in carbon fibre and if you want to keep adding less weight a polycarbonate rear window is waiting for your cash.
Inside, as you’d expect, you can’t see anything else for the carbon fibre. There’s some alcantara fabric for good measure, all of which results in one very desirable Vantage. Is there any other kind?
UPDATE: New pics added.
We all know the #35 Nissan GT-R won the 2015 Bathurst 12 hour and we know that the #15 Audi came second and the #97 Aston Martin was third.
However, the manner in which the minor placings were decided has remained a mystery. Going into Conrod Straight for the last time the #10 Bentley was in P2 from the Audi, with the Aston close behind.
The Aston Martin got ahead of the Audi before the Chase to claim the final podium step. Thanks to the arsery from Channel 7 we never got to see the final corner stoush that sorted out this three-way battle and saw the Audi go from fourth to second. Thanks to “Rusty Blackmore” and his trackside YouTube clip we can now see what happened next.
Entering Murray’s Corner the Bentley had the inside line, with the Audi trying to find its way past on the outside. The Aston was tucked in behind the Bentley looking for an early apex to make a move on the final left hand corner of the race and then…
A factory-backed Nissan team stood atop the Bathurst podium for the first time since that pack of arseholes win back in 1992. Katsumasa Chiyo drove the #35 GTR Nismo GT3 to victory with a perfectly timed charge for the lead in a two-lap sprint for the chequered flag.
That final sprint came courtesy of the 20th Safety Car period of the race which, thankfully, was over in time to see the race decided under green flag conditions. At the start of the second last lap the Nissan was in third place, by Hell Corner Chiyo had moved into P2 and by Griffins Bend he had the lead. Never challenged he crossed the line with a relatively comfortable gap back to the chaos going on behind him.
You can read more detailed coverage of the race elsewhere, all we’ll add to our thoughts on the race is that we would have loved to have seen the #15 Phoenix Audi R8 win. In the opening hour or so Markus Winkelhock was a class above the rest of the field. It was beautiful to watch as the gap back to second visibly widened with each lap.
At the end, in that dramatic run from Forrest Elbow to the flag, the #15 car went from almost taking second place, to being relegated to fourth to crossing the line in P2 in a move that we’re still yet to see on video (Channel 7 we’ll get to you later).
Overall, though, the Bathurst 12 Hour is a truly great race. Why would you watch six hours of supertaxis when you can watch 12 hours of bona fide supercars! Watching the GT cars fly across the top of the mountain is perhaps one of the finest motor racing spectator experiences on offer in Australia. And seven different brands in the top seven says all you need to know about GT racing and is part of what makes it so enjoyable to watch.
Each brand has its own unique sound. Those Marc Racing V8s are a pretty cool concept, but they sound like every other V8 Supercar in that god forsaken series. In the GT category there’s V12s, V10, V8s, V6s and flat-sixes. The Bentleys and Mercedes have a gutteral growl, the Audis shriek, the 458s shriek a bit more. Each has its own character as the drivers work through the gears. The Nissan less clinical than you might think. The Porsche is just different to everything else out there.
It’s believeable. Seeing racecars genuinely based on their roadgoing counterparts respects the paying punter much more than the direction V8SC has taken. I don’t like being treated like a fool, thankfully with GT racing that is not the case.
Slowly, but surely, the crowds are catching on too. It was a record crowd for the 12 Hour this year and while still a long way off the crowds for the 1000km race the gap is closing. Of course, the VB and Winnie blue factor is a bit lower as well.
If you love motorsport and haven’t yet made it to the Bathurst 12 Hour, give yourself a kick up the arse and start planning for 2016!
2015 Bathurst 12 Hour top 7
- #35 Nissan GTR Nismo GT3 – 269 laps
- #15 Audi R8 LMS Ultra – 269 laps
- #97 Aston Martin V12 Vantage – 269 laps
- #10 Bentley Continental GT3 – 269 laps
- #36 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 – 269 laps
- #49 Ferrari 458 Italia GT3 – 268 laps
- #32 Lamboghini Gallardo GT3 – 268 laps
[Pic: Instagram]
UPDATE: Nissan’s video wrap and press release have been added below.
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VIDEO: Three days of fun
Chris Harris and mates at Portimao with his favourite cars from 2014. There’s no agenda, no forced result to pick a winning car. It’s simply a recipe for fun. Enjoy!
- Aston Martin V12 Vantage S
- BMW M3
- Ferrari 458 Speciale
- Ferrari F12
- Porsche 911 GT3
- Porsche 918 Spyder
- Renault Megane 275 Trophy R
[Thanks to Richard for the tip]