2012 Aston Martin Vantage GT4

Over the years, Aston Martin has built and released the Vantage GT4 for competition in European GT4 races. This year, the British automaker is releasing the newest version of the Vantage GT4, only this time, it’s bound to unleash its fury on American soil for the first time.

It’s an ideal time for the Aston to release the Vantage GT4 in the US, especially after its successful return year to the American LeMans series where it bagged wins with the Aston Martin DBR1-2 prototype in a number of races, including Long Beach, Mosport, Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Laguna Seca.

For the 2012 racing season, the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 will be built and raced by Toronto-based partner Multimatic Motorsports. The car itself will be re-dissected for racing purposes, which means that all of the luxury amenities of the road version will be removed in favor of race-spec equipment. Certain parts will also be added, including a new splitter that increases downforce at the front of the car, as well as a new carbon fiber diffuser, and a redesigned underfloor that creates an area of low pressure under the rear of the car, increasing the car’s overall downforce.

One thing that will remain with the car though is its 4.7-liter V8 engine, which Aston has used ever since it began building the Vantage GT4 back in 2008.

For the 2012 season, Multimatic Motorsports will be fielding two cars, which will be driven by some noted drivers, including Scott Maxwell, Joe Foster, Ston Martin, chief engineer Chris Porritt, and Hollywood actor-slash-racer Patrick Dempsey.

UPDATE 01/25/2012: Aston Martin has announced that the beginning of its Grand-Am campaign will be on Friday, January 27th during the first round of the 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge (CTSCC) at the Daytona International Speedway. The company will join forces with Toronto-based Multimatic Motorsports to enter a pair of Vantage GT4s in the Grand American Road Racing series. "The first round of the Grand-Am Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge at Daytona will see Aston Martin realize a long-held desire to have the Vantage GT4 competing regularly in North America. Aston Martin Racing has built and sold nearly 100 Vantage GT4s since we raced the first one at the Nürburgring 24 Hour race in 2006, and it’s great to be present at last in such an important market with such a strong and experienced partner as Multimatic."

UPDATE 03/05/12: The Aston Martin Vantage GT4 is headed to the 2012 Geneva Motor Show with plenty of new aerodynamic components in preparation for the 2012 season. The most prominent modification is a new carbon fiber rear wing, a redesigned roll cage, and a reconfigured fuel tank to lower the race car’s center of gravity.