- Aston Martin is on a roll lately as it launches new road cars, shakes up the Formula 1 grid, and develops a lineup of GT race cars.
- After launching the Vantage GT3, Aston is following up with a Vantage GT4, aimed at continuing Aston Martin Racing’s dominating streak.
- With a retuned transmission, slightly adjusted suspension, and improvements in downforce, around 40 units of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 are set for production this year.
If you’re experiencing Aston Martin dĂ©jĂ vu, you’re probably not alone. Less than two weeks ago, Aston Martin officially revealed its Vantage GT3 race car alongside the blueprint Vantage road car, marking the resurgence of Aston’s road-based race car journey. Now, the British manufacturer is doubling down, as it announces the launch of the Vantage GT4.
Built on the outgoing Vantage GT4 platform, the new Vantage GT4 will compete in the junior grand touring categories. And the homologated model’s claim to newness is not just a new livery, either. Like the Vantage GT3, the GT4 variant is heavily based on the incoming Vantage road car.
Aston says the primary changes to the GT4 will be found in the chassis setup, aerodynamic design, and drivetrain tuning. The folks at Aston Martin Racing (who have been the official GT racing partner of Aston since 2005) were required to work within strict regulations, sharing around 80% of the road car’s bones.
Under the hood, Aston is relying on a 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8, putting down 656 hp and 590 lb-ft of torque in street car form. Controlled by a model-specific Bosch Motorsports ECU and ZF transmission software, the primary drivetrain change for the Vantage GT4 is actually in its transmission.
Equipped with a ZF 8-speed automatic as standard, the homologated version actually deactivates the 7th and 8th gears in the name of power delivery, ridding itself of fuel economy-seeking overdrive ranges. Typically buttery automatic shifting is deactivated and replaced with full-time paddle shifting capabilities as well.
Similarly, most of Aston’s chassis modifications hinge on regulatory compliance, meaning that inboard suspension mounting points remain identical to the road-going model. However, a few permitting changes to the suspension linkages allow the team at Aston Martin Racing to properly tune in the chamber for the mandated 18-inch wheels.
Notably, the street-legal Vantage rolls on 21-inch wheels, indicating that the downsized wheels require significant suspension geometry changes. Bespoke, forged aluminum rims are another standard addition to the Vantage GT4. KW Suspension provides two-way adjustable damping, rounding out the track-specific suspension changes.
Aston says computational fluid dynamics was used to hone the aerodynamics package for the GT4, though the results don’t shy too far from the street version per racing rules. With the exception of the hood, most of the body panels on the GT4 version are shared with the standard production cars.
However, in an effort to keep things cool lap after lap, GT4 regulations do allow for the incorporation of air outlets and a larger radiator aperture into the natural flax fiber composite material hood. Beyond this lighter, better-flowing hood, Aston says the Vantage GT4 will benefit from the requisite front splitter and rear wing, reducing drag overall.
The Vantage GT4 has already made its international debut, too, racing at the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Aston says production of the Vantage GT4 is well under way, meaning we’ll see around 40 models in the hands of customer teams this year.
“The new Vantage GT4 is very much an evolution of the previous car,” explains Adam Carter, Aston Martin Head of Endurance Motorsport. “Closer synergies between Aston Martin’s road and race car programs have enabled AMR to capitalize upon improvements made to the new Vantage road car for increased speed and efficiency, while retaining the core qualities that made the outgoing GT4 so popular with teams and drivers.”
Going forward, the new Vantage GT4 has big shoes to fill, as the previous model was a consistent dominating force in the past. Since its launch in 2018, teams associated with Aston Martin Racing and the GT-variants of the Vantage have claimed one season win, in addition to making the podium a handful of times.
What grand touring road car would you like to see homologated? Why? Please share your thoughts below.
A New York transplant hailing from the Pacific Northwest, Emmet White has a passion for anything that goes: cars, bicycles, planes, and motorcycles. After learning to ride at 17, Emmet worked in the motorcycle industry before joining Autoweek in 2022. The woes of alternate side parking have kept his fleet moderate, with a 2014 Volkswagen Jetta GLI and a 2003 Honda Nighthawk 750 street parked in his South Brooklyn community.