Aston Martin Racing Legacy
Many of today's Aston Martin cars use engines and other features that are heavily inspired by auto racing vehicles. Auto racing vehicles are at the limits of car technology. Therefore any technology breakthroughs made in the auto racing world, will find themselves in the road cars that you and I buy.
Aston Martin entered the auto racing field in the early twentieth century.
Over the years there were many Aston Martin cars used in auto racing events. The biggest success for the company in its early years of racing was in 1959 when a DBR1 won the Le Mans 24 Hours endurance race and the World Sports Car Championship title.
Although a number of cars were used in racing during the twentieth century it wasn't until 2004 that Aston Martin truly got back into the field of racing when it partnered with Prodrive to create the DBR9. This is a racing version of the company's DB9 that featured a 6.0L V12 engine and a flat bottom for aerodynamic purposes. Carbon fibre materials are also used to help with reduce the car's weight.
In recent years Aston Martin has also returned to endurance racing. This is where cars typically compete with teams of drivers in races that last about twelve to twenty-four hours. In 2007 Aston Martin brought a DBR9 to the Le Mans 24 Hours race and won in the GT1 class. The 009 DBR9, which is a variant of the vehicle with fuel economy in mind, won in the GT1 class in the 2008 Le Mans race.
Aston Martin is the only company in auto racing that has a car in all GT levels. The DBR9 is used in the GT1 class. The GT2 class features the Vantage GT2, the GT3 level has the DBRS9 and the GT4 class has the Vantage GT4. These are all variants of common Aston Martin cars.
In summary the Aston Martin brand has had a chequered career on the race track. It enjoyed racing successes in the late 1950s. The company returned to winning ways as recently as 2007. This is an example of the pedigree of engineering at Aston Martin.