2015 Bamford Rose Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Following the unveiling of the AMV8 Vantage concept car in 2003 at the North American International Auto Show, the production V8 Vantage was introduced at the Geneva Motor Show in 2005 for the 2006 model year. The two seat, two door coupé had a bonded aluminum structure for strength and lightness.

This particular V8 was built by Bamford Rose in March 2015 as a racing car to comply with the technical regulations governing The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Cup (class V2) run by Aston Club Racing, forming part of a race series competing with works prepared/Prodrive GT4 cars. The car was developed from a 2007 V8 road car that had sustained a bit of damage (Cat D) in a road accident.

The engine is 4.7litre full race GT4 engine built by Adrian Miller of Bamford Rose and is reported to produce 485 BHP. To achieve that output, Bamford Rose tuned equal length exhaust manifolds; 200 cell catalysts along with using ITG air filters and 3-way exhaust control switch to meet track DB noise restrictions. For the driveline, a lightweight flywheel has been used with a twin-plate sintered clutch along with a fully rebuilt and 'superpolished' gearbox with all the seals renewed. New prop bearings have been fitted and the differential has been rebuilt and modified to cope with the stresses involved in a full race car. A short-shift gear selector and a gearbox cooler upgrade complete the driveline package.

In terms of handling and set-up, electromagnetic switchable dampers with a cockpit switch for dry/wet conditions have been fitted along with a much 'beefier' rear anti-roll bar. GT4 spec front uprights are preferred with front and rear rose-jointing along with an adjustable rear toe link.

Retardation is entrusted to V12 Vantage front and rear brakes (6 pot front and 4 pot rear). Two sets of black painted 19-inch race wheels shod with 255/40/19 (f) and 285/35/19 (r) Pirelli 'P Zeros' plus one set of unused Kumho quali / test day tyres are included in the sale.

The interior has also been professionally stripped and trimmed by Bamford Rose. They started by removing the airbags and added new Sparco race seats with 5-point harnesses. An FIA /GT4 roll cage was fitted along with a state of the art fire extinguisher system, battery cut off switches and a lightweight heavy duty race battery. The pedals were re-positioned, the steering lock was removed and a detachable GT4 steering wheel was preferred.

The Carbon centre console now houses switchgear and the dash itself was re-trimmed in non-reflective Alcantara. There is a forward-facing camcorder mounted on the roll cage, electric windows are retained for ventilation and the standard door locks are also kept, but the central locking system has been removed along with the alarm. The DSC/ABS/Traction control has also been retained but has been de-sensitised and re-programmed for circuit driving.

The front and rear of the chassis were stiffened with significant weight removal, particularly in the rear, and an easy-up manual jacking system was added. The body panels are all lightweight parts used from V12 Vantage road cars and GT4 spec parts such as the 'diveplanes' and an adjustable rear wing help keep the car stable in high-speed corners. As if this stunning car's dramatic looks were not enough, it's been finished in head-turning Pearlescent Aston Racing Green with Red and Black accents and White Aston Club Racing square number cards on doors and bonnet.

As a result of all this work this track weapon partnered with a prestigious badge weighs 1470kg, offers genuine performance and is also in possession of a UK V5C meaning that, should you so wish, you could drive it to the pub!!

All mechanical, and other replacement parts and components have less than six hours running time since this car was converted in March 2015. This is a fantastic all round package enabling its new owner to enjoy track days and the club racing scene whilst looking 'pretty damn cool' in the process.