New Aston Martin GTE car, Maserati's first sports racer and further Geneva news ...
After a difficult season with the failed AMR-One LMP1 racer, Aston Martin Racing have launched a more modest program for the 2012 season. In addition to supporting the various costumers, the Gulf Oil backed team will field a single entry in the GTE class of the World Endurance Championship with a revised version of the GT2 V8 Vantage introduced some years ago. Aptly named the V8 Vantage GTE, it benefits from the recent updates to the road going model and includes changes compared to the existing machine. For the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Aston Martin plan to field a second car, taking on the challenge of old rivals Corvette Racing but also Ferrari, Porsche and BMW.
During the first two decades of the company's existence, Maserati focused almost exclusively on the construction of Grand Prix and Voiturette racing cars. That changed after the War, when the Italian manufacturer expanded into the lucrative sports car market with the A6GCS. Using production-based components, it would be the first of a long line of sports racers, ultimately culminating in the legendary machines like the 300S, 450S and Birdcage. Of the original A6GCS, only a handful were built and they are only rarely seen today. Two years ago we captured chassis 2002 in action at the Monaco Historic Grand Prix.
While the regular production model may already get frowns from purist Land Rover enthusiasts, the Evoque Convertible Concept to be launched in Geneva will surely be subject of debate. Land Rover are quick to express there are no production plans, it seems unlikely that the concept car was built only to offend part of the company's loyal customer base. Even more likely to be produced is the Citroen DS Racing Concept, which will also be unveiled in Geneva next week. Based on the DS4, this hardcore version features a 256 bhp four cylinder engine, which has the highest specific output of any Citroen production engine. The car's chassis and running gear have also been modified to cope with the additional power.
Enjoy the links:
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