The Aston Martin Vantage GTE made a spectacular showing at the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans, winning its LMGTE Pro class on its way to finishing 17th overall. The success has spurred Aston Martin Racing and the Vantage GTE to even greater heights as it once again took to the grid to compete in yet another racing competition. This time though, the scene of the Vantage GTE’s latest motor racing triumph isn’t Le Mans. It’s not even Bathurst or the Nürburgring. It’s Alexandra Palace in London, England, the site of Red Bull’s Soapbox Race where the Vantage GTE Soapbox finished second in the “24 Seconds of Le Ally Pally.”

Snicker all you want, but you can’t deny that the miniaturized, gravity-powered Vantage GTE looks just as awesome as its life-sized counterpart. It is a lot smaller than the actual Vantage GTE and it doesn’t have the car’s powerful V-8 engine, but where it lacks in producing an actual soundtrack, the soapbox Vantage GTE more than makes up for it in having a presence about itself. Even better, it actually had a successful go at the 24 Seconds of Le Ally Pally, finishing second overall, behind only the Brooklands Special team. That kind of success is what Aston Martin was going for when it decided to enter the soapbox in the fun-filled race, and you can be sure that the motorsports division of Aston Martin will try to build on this year’s impressive result and turn it into a better showing next year. Who knows, next year’s entry might even be the Valkyrie hypercar, or at least a soapbox version of it.

Continue after the jump to read the full story.

Don’t think that Aston Martin wasn’t taking this seriously

It’s easy to wonder if Aston Martin participated in this event with its tongue firmly planted in its cheek. From the grueling 24 Hours of Le Mans to the 24 Seconds of Le Ally Pally? That’s something you don’t get to see often, especially for a company as esteemed as Aston Martin.

But just because it participated in the Le Ally Pally, that doesn’t mean it’s resigned itself to competing in these levels of motorsport. For one, the event is sponsored by Red Bull, the same company whose racing arm is partners with Aston Martin in the development of the Valkyrie hypercar. That’s an obvious connection there.

Then there’s the fact that soapbox racing, despite its outwardly lighthearted appeal compared to other forms of racing, still fosters a very competitive environment. That’s a big reason why close to 70 teams participated in the event. Don’t think for one second that all these teams were there for giggles and laughs. They wanted to win as badly as Aston Martin.

It certainly looked like the automaker was in full force, too, as the team also featured British drivers Darren Turner and Jonny Adam, who make up two-thirds of the Le Mans-winning that drove the Vantage GTE to a class win at the world’s most famous endurance race. Turner and Adam were there to lend their support to the team, which did about as well as it probably expected, finishing second overall behind the soapbox driving skills of Alex Summers, Aston Martin’s Prototype Operations Senior Engineer.

Then again, knowing the competitive nature of Aston Martin’s racing outfit, don’t be surprised if it’s already developing a soapbox racer that can wipe out next year's competition.

References

Read our full review on the Aston Martin V8 Vantage GTE