Aston Martin Vantage GT8 Front Wheelarch

With the impending death of Aston Martin’s current Vantage, Aston decided to throw the pretty, muscular little sports car a fitting farewell with a couple of limited-run, racing-inspired GT models. The GT12 – originally called GT3 in a nod to their racing car in that class, until complaints from Porsche forced them to instead reference that machine’s cylinder count – was based on the V12 Vantage and employed a wide body, aesthetically questionable aero additions and brightly coloured liveries. The decision to offer this same package with the V8 option as the GT8 caused no surprise – but the design variation did.

While the GT12 connects with the GT3 racer, the GT8 looks to Le Mans

Above offering different front and rear treatments compared to the fat-boy GT12, Aston also decided that it was a worthy enough connection to design new front bodywork more in line with the (V8-powered) LM-GTE machine competing in the World Endurance Championship. Instead of the complex, layered wing of the GT12, for the eight-cylinder car’s flares Aston Martin deleted their classic wing vent for a wheelarch cut-out and the simple, lovely side turn signal. In a move that in past times would include unthinkable cost per unit ratios, the use of carbon fibre allowed Marek Reichman and his team to exploit the flexibility of the material, as well as its weight-saving merit.