The heir to the DBR9, which launched the GT2/GTE series

Competition has been in Aston Martin's DNA since its foundation with the DBR era in the 1950s, but also in its more modern history from the 2000s onwards in GT and LMP1. The Vantage GT2 is one of the iconic cars of the Aston Martin Racing renaissance that began in 2005. Ten Aston Martin Vantage V8 GT2s will be produced, nine to complement the development VANTAGE GT2-X2 chassis. Chassis 005 is one of the remaining GT2 versions. It is now offered for sale by Ascott Collection. A rare, high-performance car, eligible for the most prestigious historic races.

 

From the DBR9 GT1 to the Vantage 24 Heures du Mans V8 GT2

From 2005 onwards, Aston Martin joined forces with Prodrive to create a British entity, Aston Martin Racing, which took part in endurance racing, notably the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Success came with the DBR9, the racing version of the DB9. In 2007 and 2008, the cars entered by David Richards and his men won the GT1 class at Le Mans. 

To accompany the launch of the V8 Vantage road car in 2005, Aston Martin Racing began work on a racing version in 2006. The model dominated at the Nürburgring in 2008, with three cars taking the top three places in the class. A V12 Vantage was also developed, along with a more exotic V8 Vantage Rally GT. But it was the development of the Vantage GT2 that the Aston Martin Racing teams focused on in order to offer customers an exceptional car produced in very small numbers. 

 

The Vantage GT2, the precursor to the Vantage GTE

Introduced in 2008, the V8 Vantage GT2 is one of the most powerful racing cars in the V8 Vantage family. It meets FIA and ACO GT2 regulations. 

The GT2 retains the aluminium chassis/body structure of the road-going Vantage with the addition of an FIA-specified tubular steel roll cage, while the body panels are carbon fibre with the exception of the roof, which remains aluminium.

A great deal of attention has been paid to improving the GT2 race car's aerodynamics, notably by equipping the car with a front splitter, a rear spoiler and a carbon rear diffuser. The braking system consists of Brembo six-piston callipers at the front and four-piston callipers at the rear, with two-piece discs. 

Power is rated at around 475 bhp, transmitted via a specific clutch and a six-speed sequential gearbox equipped with a 'flat-shift' mechanism for full-throttle gear changes. From the outset, the V8 Vantage GT2 was developed to run on E85 ethanol or normal racing fuel (via its dry sump block fitted with a Pectel SQ6 engine management system). The Vantage GT2 will make its ALMS debut at the 2008 Long Beach Grand Prix, driven by former UK Minister of State Paul Drayson and Jonny Cocker. This marked the brand's GT2 debut.

It was soon entered by customer teams in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the Le Mans Series (LMS) and the Le Mans 24 Hours. In Europe, James Watt Automotive entered the V8 Vantage GT2 in the Le Mans Series in 2008. 

Aston Martin Racing will decide to run the Vantage on an official basis, with a factory entry in 2012. It was during the winter of 2010/2011 that work was carried out to adapt the car to the regulations, culminating in the GTE. The car received steering wheel paddles and an engine upgrade, and was officially named the Vantage GTE. Some GT2 chassis were converted to GTE, but this was not the case with chassis 005, which retained its GT2 specification.

 

Chassis 005: A victorious V8 Vantage GT2 in Japan

The Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2 with chassis number GT2 005 will be delivered in Japan to the ASpeed team, which will run it in the GT300 class of the Super GT Championship in 2010. It is this 'Japanese' V8 Vantage that Ascott Collection is proud to offer for sale.

During the 2010 GT300 season, chassis 005 will compete alongside Porsches and Ferraris in the Super GT, which has been open to GT2s since 2009. Yuichiro Seguchi's A-Speed team will thus become the British brand's best ambassador in the Land of the Rising Sun. In 2010, Seguchi's team became the first to enter an Aston Martin in the GT300 class. The previous year, a DBR9 had made a brief appearance in GT500 to prepare for the Asian Le Mans Series. The car was entrusted to Hideshi Matsuda and Daiki Yoshimoto in 2010, followed by Hiroki Yoshinoto and Kazuki Hoshino in 2011 and 2012. Wearing a superb white and orange livery, our Aston Martin was often accompanied by its famous grid girls dressed (lightly) in the team colours. Over the course of the three seasons, the car took one win and the drivers finished on the podium twice.

The Japanese team's Vantage V8 GT2 was then replaced by the GT3 version, equipped with a V12 engine and one of the largest wings in the championship. 

In 2014, the GT2 competed in the Challenge Cup Japan (with two class wins) and the Aston Challenge Japan (victory). That year, it was sponsored by DUNHILL and received a white livery. In 2015, it won its class at a round of the Challenge Cup Japan and finished second in the Aston Challenge Japan.

Our Japanese Aston Martin will also be racing at Le Mans!

At the 2015 Le Mans 24 Hours, it took part in the Aston Martin Racing Le Mans Festival, the opening race of the event. It finished third in its class.

 

Entered in Endurance Racing Legends and Le Mans Classic

Chassis 005 was acquired by a French competitor and was entered in Endurance Racing Legends from 2022 in particular. On its first outing at the Mugello Classic, it scored a class win (GT2C) against an armada of Porsches. 

Given that this Aston Martin V8 Vantage has retained its 2010 GT2 Vantage specification, it is one of the very few GT2 Vantage cars that are eligible to compete in Endurance Racing Legends by Peter Auto and Le Mans Classic. As the eligibility date is 2010, cars that have been upgraded to GTE configuration, in particular with steering wheel paddles, do not comply with the regulations. In this respect, our GT2 Vantage is on an equal level with the other GT2s in the series, namely the Porsche 997 GT3 RSR and Ferrari F430 GTC, which all have a lever to operate their sequential gearbox. Having had its engine overhauled by Prodrive, it has retained a significant amount of hours of potential (it has since run for 11.5 hours). The car is sold with an interesting set of parts. This superb GT2 offers its future owner the chance to drive a prestigious, rare and fast GT2 in the most prestigious historic events: Masters Endurance Legends in Europe and the United States, Dubai GP Historic, Endurance Racing Legends by Peter Auto and Le Mans Classic. In 2024, a race in support of the Spa 24 Hours will be reserved for GTs. A further opportunity to make the V8 Vantage roar in the Ardennes, the temple of GT.