Aston Martin’s racing history is as old as the company itself. This year, Gaydon celebrates two significant anniversaries – 60 years since its iconic 1-2 win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and 70 years since the company first raced at the Goodwood Motor Circuit.
It’s fitting then that this year’s Goodwood Festival of Speed celebrates the marque’s racing history. Goodwood’s Central Feature – a 30-metre-high swoop of steel – has the Le Mans winning Aston Martin DBR1 racing towards the sky on a never-ending race track this year. It’s quite a sight.
The carmaker is reciprocating with six unique Vantages, each honoring a famous race car from the company’s history. Q by Aston Martin – the brand’s bespoke personalisation service – naturally chose the Vantage as the model is Aston Martin’s modern race car.
AM will only make 60 Vantage Heritage Racing Editions, with customers able to choose one of the six liveries. The collection also introduces a new aerokit that adds a significant 194 kg of downforce at 305 km/h. The addition of a carbon fibre rear wing, dive planes and extended front splitter increase downforce while maintaining the balance of the original design. The aerokit is now available on all Vantages, not just this limited edition.
The Heritage Racing Editions also feature lightweight wheels, the sports plus pack and carbon fibre interior details to further aid weight reduction.
The oldest race car to provide inspiration for the series is Razor Blade. ‘The Record Breaker’, Razor Blade set two class records in the 1500CC light car class at Brooklands in 1923. The silver bits on the green car acknowledges the aluminium streamlined body constructed by aircraft maker De Havilland.
‘The Italian Progettista’ pays homage to AM’s most iconic pre-war racing model, the Ulster. An Ulster finished third overall at Le Mans in 1935, winning its class and placing fourth in the RAC Tourist Trophy Race. The red perfectly matches the original team colour scheme and the ‘Aston Martin’ lettering on the side gill nods to the distinctive script that was hand painted on the bonnets of the team cars.
The DB3S has inspired the ‘The David Brown Era’ Vantage. Aston Martin used different colours on individual race cars to help with identification during racing. The yellow and green DB3S has become one of the most iconic liveries making it the perfect choice for the project.
Also celebrated is AMR1, ‘The Group C Monster’. The Nimrod successor was developed in 1989 to participate in the Group C racing series and bristled with radical new technology including a kevlar/carbon-fibre monocoque chassis – a radical development in 1989. It’s the car with the white, blue and red livery.
A nod to the endurance series that Aston has been competing in since 1928 is ‘The Le Mans Winner’ Vantage. The DBR9 was Aston Martin’s GT class challenger, winning the race in both 2007 and 2008 for back to back class wins. The iconic Gulf livery is one of the best-known designs in motorsport.
Finally, the collection concludes with the ‘The Next Generation’ which honours the modern racing Vantage GTE. Inspired by Aston Martin’s current motorsport offering, Q by Aston Martin matched the Lime Essence and Stirling Green colour displayed on the body panels of the official race car, replicating the racer that currently competes in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Surely the Gulf livery would be the most popular choice, or will it be gorgeous green?
GALLERY: Aston Martin V8 Vantage in Malaysia
Looking to sell your car? Sell it with Carro.
