The V8 Vantage GT2 that returned Aston Martin Racing to serious competition

I shan’t forget the first time I clapped eyes on Aston Martin’s V8 Vantage in its 2005 launch year. It was at the Gaydon HQ and I was admiring one of the first production cars in the entrance atrium while awaiting the arrival of Aston’s eccentric but effective CEO, Dr Ulrich Bez.

But when he burst onto the scene, it wasn’t the car he wanted to talk about – but cake. Royal wedding cake, to be precise, as dished out at the recent nuptials of Charles and Camilla. “This, money cannot buy,” said Bez with wild-eyed enthusiasm. “It is priceless,” he opined, prodding it with the arm of his lime-green spectacles.

But while Bez was still basking in the glow of having been a royal wedding guest (the King’s an Aston Martin fan, don’t forget) he was simultaneously gearing-up to return the marque to serious competition with the creation of Aston Martin Racing by launching track versions of the freshly minted Vantage.

The announcement came at the following year’s British International Motor Show, where Bez revealed that he, development engineer Chris Porritt, development driver Wolfgang Schuhbauer and a German journalist would race in the forthcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours.

The N24 car, which was close to stock, achieved an impressive fourth in class – and was (legally) driven home afterwards. Aston Martin’s renaissance was properly ‘back on track’ and a slew of proper race variants of the Vantage followed, including GT2, GT3 and GT4 versions and a Rally GT model developed by Prodrive for the 2006 Race of Champions.

The 2010 car on offer with the Ascott Collection in northern France is chassis 005 of the nine GT2s built and remains as it was in 2010, making it eligible (among numerous other events) for the Endurance Racing Legends series and Le Mans Classic.

The GT2 specification combines the aluminium VH architecture of the road car with the addition of carbon fibre body panels (the roof remains aluminium) and an FIA rollcage. Brembo racing brakes and two-piece discs take care of stopping, with aerodynamics being improved by a front splitter, rear spoiler and rear diffuser. A relatively modest output of 475bhp keeps the V8 reliable, and it drives through a six-speed, sequential flat-shift transmission.

The car was delivered new to Yuichiro Seguchi’s A Speed team which became the first in Japan to enter an Aston Martin in the GT300 class, dressing it in the same white and orange livery as worn by the team’s popular grid girls.

In 2014 the car took two class wins in the Challenge Cup Japan and won the Aston Challenge Japan under the sponsorship of Dunhill, the historic maker of Motorities driving accessories. Chassis 005’s finest hour came, however, when it finished third in class at the AMR Le Mans Festival in 2015

The car was subsequently bought by a French enthusiast and has again been campaigned in earnest since 2022, notably taking a class win at that year’s Mugello Classic.

It is to be sold with a comprehensive spares kit – and the buyer should celebrate with a slice of gateaux.

2010 Aston Martin V8 Vantage GT2

On sale with Ascott Collection, Gazeran, France. Asking: £696,000. ascottcollection.com

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Dealer News: In celebration of thermal efficiency

• A rare beast even in its heyday, the Sunbeam Harrington Le Mans was a high-end Alpine whose name capitalised on an Alpine Harrington that had scooped the Index of Thermal Efficiency at 1961’s Le Mans. This 1962 model, right, took part in the RAC in ’62 and had a rough time of it: DNF. Gloucester’s county classics said the car is in “very good condition”. Price: £39,999.

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• With lamps behind its grille and cycle wings, the Healey Silverstone E-type looked fast and was – 110mph; 0-60 in 7secs. This 1950 example is hen’s-teeth territory: 105 Silverstones were made and of those, 51 were D-Types and 54 the more desirable and spacious E-. It’s on sale for £129,995 at Camberley Marine and Sports Cars in Fleet, Hampshire.
• Popemobiles have come in all shapes and sizes – for his visit to the UK in 1982 Pope John Paul II cruised around in a Leyland Constructor. Now for his Vatican City car pool, Pope Francis is going all-out EV with 40 leased Volkswagen ID.3s, 4s and 5s. Of late, the Pontiff has been using a fuss-free, standard Ford Focus. LG