Aston Martin reveals the 2012 V12 Vantage GT3 race car

Aston Martin has unveiled the 2012 V12 Vantage GT3 race car, with new aerodynamics, shorter wheel base and lower engine position than the preceding DBRS9.

It’s been mooted for quite a while, but now it’s confirmed – AM are to replace the DBR9S race car with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

Built on Aston Martin’s now rather ancient V/H architecture modular chassis, the Vantage GT3 also features Aston Martin’s one and only engine – the V12 originally built from a pair of Ford Mondeo engines – which in the GT3 version will produce something in the region of 600bhp and 516lb/ft of torque.

What the GT3 also gets – as the photo above clearly demonstrates – are new aerodynamics, which makes the GT3 seem much more aggressive than the V12 Vantage on which it’s based.

Thanks to a shorter wheelbase and a lower engine position than the DBRS9, the V12 Vantage GT3 should be quicker and nimbler than its predecessor and will, thanks to the latest race-developed ABS and traction control systems, be much more driveable.

Aston Martin are big on racing for the performance halo it gives their road cars, and they offer a car for every GT class there is. The V12 Vantage GT3 will be eligible for races including the FIA GT3 Championship, Nurburgring VLN, Blancpain Endurance Series, British GT and open GT.

Aston Martin are to start testing the Vantage GT3 in October and will complete the programme and sign the GT3 off in early 2012 when it goes on sale.

If you have £298,000 to spare.