Aston Martin Throttles Up for Nurburgring

The weekend that's about to begin will witness the 24 Hours Nurburgring race and, as the green light approaches, manufacturers have began feeling the rush and excitement of the race. One of them is Aston Martin, who says it is ready for the "toughest endurance tests in motorsport".

“For me, this race is still the ultimate endurance challenge for any car and it is right that we subject our new V12 Vantage to this extraordinary test," Aston Martin Chief Executive, Ulrich Bez said.

The British manufacturer will bring at the event six vehicles to race against the other 180 drivers, led by the company's V12 Vantage. The car, in near-standard specification, will be driven by Ulrich Bez, Chris Porritt, Oliver Mathai and Richard Meaden. The Nurburgring race car is powered by a 6.0l V12 engine, producing 510 horsepower and 570 Nm (420 lb.-ft) of torque, to which Aston Martin engineers brought only "minor modifications".

Alongside the Vantage, Aston Martin will race a V8 Vantage N24 called "Rose", driven by Wolfgang Schuhbauer, Shinichi Katsura and Horst von Saurma. Another N24 has been handed over to a customer team, lead by Richard Karner.

“This race is also a great occasion in Europe with support from thousands of enthusiasts and I am delighted that so many customer teams are able to join us. Of course, we hope that we can all finish the race but also have some fun too,” Aston Martin's CEO added.

The first of two qualifying sessions for the 24 Hour Nurburgring race already took place yesterday and were continued throughout today. The race itself will begin tomorrow, at 3 PM, GMT.