Without doubt the Aston Martin V8 Vantage is one of most beautiful cars around, and with a 4.3 liter V-8 engine in a pretty light body, it performs very well. But not well enough for those who want to race from time to time, or even regularly.
So here comes the Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24, the N24 standing the Nurburgring 24 hour race, where the prototype performed so well, being driven by amateur racers, including the chairman and a senior engineer from the company. Since then, the car has performed commendably elsewhere, including Dubai.
A little more power
To improve performance, the engine is modified, but nothing drastic is done because Aston Martin wanted the car to remain as easy to drive as the standard car, and to be as close to that as practical.
The crankshaft, connecting rods and pistons are all lightened and balanced more precisely than for the standard model. Then, the compression ratio is raised, the ports are opened out to improve gas flow, and the engine management system is modified to suit. The camshafts are standard, so the car retains good driveability and torque at low speeds. Even so, the power output is increased to 410 bhp at 7,500rpm – a 30bhp increase over the standard car – a very useful improvement. Because the standard cams are retained, the rev range is extended only a little, with peak power being developed 200 rpm higher than standard.
To improve response, the flywheel is lightened, and to make the car reliable when driven hard, a twin plate clutch with ceramic-metallic facings is used. There is only one gearbox offered – the six-speed manual, a slick shifting box which will appeal to most, but not those who have raced a car with an electro-mechanical sequential gearbox. Of course, Aston Martin is now offering a sequential box on the V8 Vantage, but this is not considered suitable for racing yet. Maybe later.
Of course, the cockpit has all the extra safety features that are obligatory on a racing car, including a roll over cage, fire extinguisher and quick release harness. The interior is stripped out, the fascia is trimmed in Alcantara, and the passenger seat is an optional extra!
There are neither electric window openers nor air conditioning in the car, the door panels being trimmed in lightweight panels.
Plastic side windows
The side windows are plastic, and excess weight has been removed from the chassis frame – for example there are some extrusions which are a little longer than necessary to suit manufacture, and these are trimmed off. A little weight is gained by reducing the number of horizontal bars in the grille.
The suspension of the V8 Vantage has been revised to suit racing. The front and rear anti-roll bars are larger, and aluminum dampers with adjustable ride height are fitted. The springs are steel coils, but have separate helper springs. To improve response, the front suspension has more camber and castor. Speedline cast magnesium front and rear wheels are standard, along with high performance Yokohama AO48 tires.
Interestingly, the ABS, traction control and stability control are retained, the the team kept the stability control in use when racing.
The result of all these changes is high performance, better handling. The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 weighs 550 lb (250 kg) less than the standard car at 2,930 lb (1,330 kg), which plays a large part in the improved performance. Mind you, that sounds about the right weight for a 4-liter two-seater supercar to me, not one that has bee stripped down.
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage N24 costs £78,870 plus local taxes and delivery.
What's it like? Well, we got this report from our secret driver..
Track Test
I get only a few laps in the N24 race car. It’s a manual, of course, and I have just driven the Sportshift. After two 24-hour races, the manual box is now very well run-in. And its gearshift is fabulously smooth, quick and precise, more so than that of any V8 Vantage manual I’ve driven before. And that means there’s no reason why a roadgoing V8’s shouldn’t now be as good, given time to loosen up.
The N24’s reduced weight lets it accelerate harder and brake later, and its track-optimised suspension reduces both understeer and oversteer so there’s a longer neutral phase.
Those are some reasons why this is one of the easiest, friendliest, most satisfying race cars I have ever driven – even on a streaming wet track. The race drivers keep the ESP engaged too, incidentally. With the N24 I can feel an involvement and an intimacy that the Sportshift would spoil, however good it might become. Overall, a sensational racing car.
