Aston Martin Vantage GT8
Gaydon is readying its replacement, yet
its baby supercar will go out with a bang, not a whisper. The DB11 is the “it”
Aston Martin right now and it heralds a new era for the rejuvenated British
manufacturer, with new platforms and turbocharged engines underlining its
rebirth as a credible opponent in the sports luxury segment.
The Vantage and its naturally aspirated
engines are destined to go the way of the Dodo DB9, but there’s still life in
the old dog and Aston is making the most of it.
Cue the hardcore GT8, the GT12’s
eight-cylinder sibling and Porsche 911 GT3 rival-to-be. Essentially a stripped
out and more powerful Vantage V8, it’s already been teased by Aston Martin and
is currently lapping the Nordschleife with barely any camo at all.
One would expect engineers to simply
replace the 6.0-liter V12 of the GT12 with a tuned version of the V8 and leave
the rest of the race-derived package intact, but that’s not the case.
As is evident from the images, the front
spoiler and rear diffuser are reshaped, the fixed wing is smaller, and the air
outlets on the front fender and rear brake cooling ducts of the GT12 are
missing.
Nevertheless, the GT8 promises to be a
formidable weapon as, apart from its carefully tuned chassis it is also
officially billed as the lightest Vantage ever, something that should
definitely improve both its handling characteristics and performance.
Its production run will be limited to
just 150 units and will carry an £ 170,000 (a bit over US$ 240k) price tag.
