A pair of brand new V12 Zagatos joins a V8 Vantage to represent the factory at the 24-hour ADAC Nurburgring Enduro.
Revealed at the Concorso D’Eleganza at Villa D’Este last month and winning the Design award for Concepts and Prototypes, a pair of race-prepped V12 Zagatos is being readied for the toughest 24-hour race of them all – the annual ADAC Nürburgring 24 Hours - on June 25-26. The show car was transformed into the red #3 racecar, nicknamed “Zag” and will be driven by Aston Martin CEO, Dr. Ulrich Bez, the company’s Nürburgring Test Centre Director, Wolfgang Schuhbauer and automotive journalists Horst von Saurma and Matthew Marsh. The alloy-bodied Zagato racers, above, are powered by 5,935-cc naturally
aspirated all-alloy V12 engines with four cams, 48-valve heads and are
rated at 530 horsepower. In addition, a green # 5 V12 Zagato, nicknamed “Zig” will be driven by One-77 Chief Engineer Chris Porritt, experienced sports car driver Oliver Mathai, automotive journalist Richard Meaden and experienced amateur racer Peter Cate.
Joining the Zagatos will be a V8 Vantage GT4 affectionately nicknamed “Smurf” (now orange but previously blue) which will be driven by Aston Martin Racing works driver, Darren Turner, journalist and experienced 24-hour driver, Shinichi Katsura, Australian racer Rob Thomson and seasoned Nürburgring pilot Jurgen Stumpf.
Three customer-team V8 Vantages will be competing over the weekend, bringing the Aston Martin presence in the race up to six cars. Mathol Racing (#62), Bratke Motorsport Team – AVIA (#85) and Team Pflanz (#75) will be driving Vantage GT4s in the SP10 class.
Aston Martin’s Head of Motorsport, David King said: “Our entries this year extend our Nürburgring racing philosophy. For five years now we have signed-off our new products by entering a car which is as close to the road car as possible and subjecting it to the toughest 24-hour test on what best simulates the extremities of public roads. This year we go a step further by testing a car at the prototype stage.”
The 39th ADAC Nürburgring 24-Hour race starts at 4:00 pm CET on Saturday, June 25. Live updates are available by following @astonmartin on Twitter and live commentary will be broadcast via Radio Le Mans, www.radiolemans.com
For more information about Aston Martin production vehicles, please visit, http://www.astonmartin.com/