Aston Martin is celebrating its centenary with
ambitious plans for this year’s racing season, as it plans to win both the 24
Hours of Le Mans and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Aston Martin revealed nearly no details on the 2013
Vantage GT2, but it confirmed the cars will get redistributed weight, revised
suspension and a new fly-by wire throttle, a newly allowed feature under this
year’s regulations. Everything else seems to be pretty much identical to the
road-going version: aluminum structure, and the design of the engine and
suspension.
When compared to the road-going Aston Martin
Vantage, the GT2 version features a body fully made in lightweight carbon fiber
and an advanced-aerodynamic package that offers improved stability at high
speeds. This package includes a carbon-fiber splitter, flat floor and diffuser,
and a carbon-fiber rear wing designed using the latest computational fluid
dynamics (CFD) techniques.
For the interior, the new Vantage GT2 has been
specially prepared for the race track. It receives carbon-fiber seats with
six-point safety harness, a fire extinguisher system for dangerous situations,
and a lightweight lithium battery. For driver’s optimal protection, in case of
a crash, the car has also been equipped with a steel roll-cage.
The car keeps the same V-8 engine as
in the road-going version, but in the racing version it delivers more than 600
horsepower and more than 515 pound-feet of torque. The engine is mated to a
Xtrac six speed sequential transmission with semi-automatic paddle shift gear
change and racing clutch.
Thanks to the extra power and the reduced weight,
the new Vantage GT2 will be considerably faster than the road-going version
which already delivers impressive numbers: 4.7-second 0-to-60 sprint and a 180
mph top speed.
