Passionately conceived, expertly curated, and exquisitely executed, this trio of Aston Martin Vantages offers a unique appreciation of–and insight into–the superbly capable and versatile model.

It celebrates not only the Vantage’s immense and varied competition success, but also its firsts and lasts; not to mention its highs and lows. In the V12 Vantage GT3, the collection honours a car which may conceivably prove to be the final V12-powered Aston Martin competition car ever made, while the Vantage GTE represents a model which brought Aston Martin Racing back from the competitive brink to secure yet further Le Mans glory. Finally, the Vantage GT3 embodies the future; the first in a line of new-generation turbocharged cars which will, in time, surely secure its place alongside the likes of the Ulster, DB3S, DBR1, DB4GT, and DBR9 in the pantheon of Aston Martin greats.

Significantly, Aston Martin have warranted in the consigning owner’s purchase contract that no other “Trio”–or similar collection of Vantages–will ever be produced in the future, rendering this particular commission all the more noteworthy. Each immaculately presented, having covered either minimal or no mileage, this truly represents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and one which any appropriately committed Aston Martin collector should grasp with both hands.

2021 Aston Martin Vantage GT3

Chassis no. AMR-TRIO-16A

-Commissioned by the consigning owner and completed by Aston Martin Racing in 2021

-Assembled using a spare, unraced Vantage GT3 chassis, and all-new AMR-sourced components

-Equipped with a twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine, delivering some 535 horsepower, and a six-speed Xtrac semi-automatic gearbox

-Similar specification to the TF Sport-run car which secured the 2019 British GT Championship

-Stunningly finished in Sterling Green, with yellow accents

-Minimal mileage incurred to date, comprising a five-lap shakedown session at the Circuit of the Americas

After a remarkable 13-year production run, the final “VH” platform Vantage was despatched from Aston Martin’s Gaydon factory in mid-2018. Although the model had proved the most commercially successful in the company’s history, a new and updated Vantage had been announced the previous November; its use of the state-of-the-art “AM6” platform–and a third party-sourced engine for the first time–marking something of a watershed in Aston Martin terms. However, while the employment of Mercedes-Benz’s superb twin-turbocharged 4.0-litre V8 engine took some time for Aston Martin purists to process, it represented a logical–indeed, inevitable–choice, given the wide-ranging technical partnership which had been signed between both parties as long ago as 2013.

It came as no surprise that a “second generation” Vantage GTE race car was announced at the same time as its roadgoing counterpart—albeit one now, somewhat confusingly, referred to as a Vantage AMR. Constructed around the same bonded aluminium chassis as its roadgoing sibling, it produced a boost-variable 535 horsepower from its newly-turbocharged engine and bristled with cutting-edge racing technology such as a six-speed semi-automatic Xtrac gearbox, four-way adjustable Öhlins dampers, and a bespoke Akrapovič exhaust system.

Competition success was near immediate, with the factory-run Aston Martin Racing squad winning the GTE Pro class in two rounds of the 2018 World Endurance Championship, and securing GTE Am Drivers’ Championships in 2019/20 and 2022. As if to underline the new car’s impressive credentials, 2020 saw the Vantage AMR win both the GTE Pro and GTE Am classes at Le Mans; a feat repeated in the latter class in 2022.

Ingeniously, the Vantage AMR could allegedly be converted from GTE to GT3 specification by a skilled team of mechanics in as little as five hours; the latter, more cost-conscious ruleset being employed by national championships such as the British GT Championship and Nürburgring Nordschleife-based VLN series. Offering a pace only marginally slower than a GTE-specification car, the primary changes included the fitment of less aerodynamically sophisticated bodywork, a revised fuel system, and the addition of Bosch ABS; the latter being ineligible for use in GTE-regulated events. It was in this form that factory driver Jonny Adam and Graham Davidson secured the 2019 British GT Championship in the car’s first full year of competition.

Completed in 2021 around an unraced Vantage GT3 chassis—and fitted with all new AMR-sourced components—AMR-TRIO-16A is presented in full GT3 specification; its carbon fibre-rich interior, exquisitely-crafted aerodynamics, and prodigious performance capability conspiring to produce an unrepeatable sense of automotive theatre. Having covered only a five-lap shakedown test at the Circuit of the Americas, the car is–predictably–exquisitely presented, and would offer a spectacular introduction to the track day and demonstration events for which it is ideally suited.

2021 Aston Martin Vantage GTE

Chassis no. AMR-TRIO-GTE

-Commissioned by the consigning owner and completed by Aston Martin Racing in 2021.

-The last of just seven Vantage GTE specification chassis constructed by AMR

-Assembled using a spare, unraced GTE chassis as its basis, and rebuilt AMR components

-Equipped with a 4.5-litre V8 engine, boasting over 500 horsepower, and a six-speed Xtrac semi-automatic gearbox

-Fitted with Traction Control, and optional (but non-GTE compliant) Bosch Motorsport ABS system

-Stunningly finished in Sterling Green, with yellow accents

-Unused since completion, boasting “zero hours” on its chassis, engine, and drivetrain as a result

It is often said that past performance is not indicative of future success. Such a statement was certainly applicable to Aston Martin Racing in the early 21st century, for while their DBR9 proved a race winner from the outset—and, crucially, at Le Mans in both 2007 and 2008—its successor, the new-for-2011 AMR-One, was the polar opposite. Indeed, few competition cars have served with less distinction than this most ungainly of LMP1 designs: in the five races it entered, it failed to appear for three, failed to finish in one, and was unclassified in the other.

Unsurprisingly, Aston Martin’s management vowed to bounce back from such humiliation with all due haste, and the decision was taken to focus on racing their 4.5-litre V8-powered Vantage model—hitherto the preserve of privateers, in GT2 specification—in a Works capacity from the 2012 season onwards. Helpfully, the introduction of the new GTE ruleset at Le Mans in 2011 was mirrored in the inaugural FIA World Endurance Championship of 2012, affording AMR the opportunity to update their newly redundant GT2-specification Vantages accordingly.

Although retaining the same basic architecture of the Vantage GT2, the new GTE-specification cars featured revised aerodynamics, reduced weight, improved cooling, and crucially from an Endurance Racing perspective, enhanced serviceability. Wisely opting to focus on contesting the 2012 WEC with just one car, Aston Martin Racing enjoyed a vital face-saving season, achieving seven podium finishes in the GTE Pro class, including a debut class win in the final round of the Championship in Shanghai.

Further updated for 2013 with a lower centre of gravity, increased torsional rigidity, and improved rear-end stability, the Vantage GTE became a regular front-runner in the WEC over the next four years, securing invaluable GTE Am and GTE Pro class wins at Le Mans in 2014 and 2017 respectively. Over the same four-year period, Aston Martin Racing also secured three FIA Endurance Trophies for Drivers, and a further three in a Teams context, rendering the Vantage GTE one of the most statistically successful of all Aston Martin competition cars.

Constructed around an unraced Vantage GTE chassis by Aston Martin Racing in 2021, AMR-TRIO-GTE is configured in identical specification—and a strikingly similar base livery—to that used by the Works cars of 2016 and 2017. This includes a full race specification engine, boasting more than 500 horsepower, a full-width rear diffuser, traction control, quick-fill refuelling system, onboard air jacks, and driver cooling system. In addition, the car boasts Bosch Motorsport ABS which, although not fitted to Vantage GTEs in period, represents a hugely welcome accessory for a car of such potency. Unused since completion, and one of just seven GTE chassis extant, the car is “zero miles” in the truest sense of the term, and would be a welcome addition to burgeoning recent-era historic racing series such as Endurance Racing Legends and Masters Racing Legends.

2016 Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3

Chassis no. AMR-TRIO-GT3

-Commissioned by the consigning owner and completed by Aston Martin Racing in 2021.

-The last of 47 V12 Vantage GT3 specification chassis constructed by AMR

-Assembled using a spare, unraced V12 Vantage GT3 chassis, and all-new AMR-sourced components

-Equipped with a 6.0-litre V12 engine, boasting over 600 horsepower, and a six-speed Xtrac semi-automatic gearbox

-Similar specification to the British GT Championship-winning cars of 2013, 2015, 2016, and 2018

-Stunningly finished in Sterling Green, with yellow accents

-Minimal mileage incurred to date, comprising a five-lap shakedown session at the Circuit of the Americas

Unveiled in GT2 guise as long ago as 2008, the Aston Martin Vantage underwent a significant revamp for 2012, with the outgoing model being replaced by two new derivatives: the V8-powered Vantage GTE and the V12 Vantage GT3. However, despite external similarities, the two new models contrasted starkly in their philosophy and mechanical makeup. The former was conceived as a works-built, factory-supported race car; its primary objective being to challenge for class honours in the new World Endurance Championship and at Le Mans. By contrast, the V12 Vantage GT3 was aimed primarily at privateer teams wishing to contest national and selected international events, including the European Le Mans Series, British GT Championship, ADAC GT Masters, and Japanese Super GT Series—not to mention standalone races such as the Spa and Nürburgring 24 Hours.

As with all Vantage-series competition cars, the V12 Vantage GT3 employed Aston Martin’s tried-and-tested bonded aluminium “VH” platform. The production V12 Vantage’s 6.0-litre V12 engine was also retained, albeit equipped with dry-sump lubrication and optimised to produce over 600 horsepower, while a six-speed, semi-automatic Xtrac gearbox transmitted power to the rear wheels via a carbon fibre propshaft.

Significantly, the car incorporated lessons learned from both the DBR9 and Vantage GTE, which saw the engine both lowered and moved rearwards in the chassis to improve weight distribution and handling. Conventional double wishbone suspension was supplemented by two-way adjustable dampers at both front and rear, while braking was provided by substantial six-pot callipers at the front, and four-pot at the rear. Furthermore, race-developed Anti-lock Braking and Traction Control systems were fitted, while extensive wind tunnel testing maximised the V12 Vantage GT3’s aerodynamic efficiency; the latter augmented by an array of appendages, cut-outs, and an adjustable full-width rear wing.

The car’s impressive specification translated into immediate success on the racetrack, with some 18 wins, 30 podium finishes, and two Championship titles secured in its maiden season. Thereafter, in the UK alone, the V12 Vantage GT3 would proceed to win the British GT Championship four times over the next six years.

Commissioned by the consigning owner and completed in 2021, this spectacular example was constructed by Aston Martin Racing from an unraced V12 Vantage GT3 chassis, and new, AMR-sourced ancillary components. Since its completion—and subsequent incorporation into the Vantage GT3 trio—in 2021, it has covered just five laps of shakedown testing at the Circuit of the Americas and remains an ideal candidate for a return to the racetrack in historic race series such as the Masters GT Trophy and MRL GT3 Legends.