The British brand has announced today that the Aston Martin V12 Vantage which had its racing debut at the 37th Nurburgring 24 hour race will also compete in the Shelsley Walsh National Hill Climb at the middle of August. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage will have to climb 100 m on a 914m long course which is only 3.66 m wide at its narrowest points. The Aston Martin V12 Vantage will be driven by journalists Richard Meaden and Matt Prior.
The power of the Aston Martin V12 Vantage comes from a 510 bhp and 570 Nm 6.0-litre V12 engine that's able to take the car from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds.
Aston Martin Press Release:
The Aston Martin V12 Vantage race car which swept to a stunning debut class victory in the 37th Nürburgring 24 hour race in May will compete in the Shelsley Walsh National Hill Climb Festival on 15/16 August 2009.
The near production standard V12 Vantage will make its UK competition debut at the historic hill
climb course in Worcestershire, UK. In continuous use since 1905, Shelsley Walsh was the first purpose built motor sport venue in history and has continued to be at the heart of British motor sport ever since. Shelsley was founded and is still run today by The Midland Automobile Club and the annual hill climb attracts in excess of 200 competitors and some 30,000 spectators.
The hill climb course is 1,000 yards (914m) in length and no more than 12 feet (3.66m) wide at its narrowest points. It is notably steep, rising 328 feet (100m) over the length of the course making Shelsley a hill on which power is especially important.
The V12 Vantage will be driven by UK motoring journalists Richard Meaden – who formed part of the driver team that piloted the car to victory at the Nürburgring in May – and Matt Prior from Autocar magazine.
Aston Martin’s Head of Motorsport, David King said: “The brief but daunting challenge of the Shelsley Walsh Hill Climb is a complete contrast to the Nürburgring 24 hour race where the V12 Vantage recently took class victory and as such we are not expecting to beat the hill climb
specialists. However, it will be a privilege to give the car its UK competition debut at such a special and historic venue which is on the doorstep of our global headquarters.”
Practice day for the Shelsley Walsh National Hill Climb is on Saturday 15 August with the first runs of the competition taking place on Sunday 16 August from 9.30am.
Based on the hugely successful V8 Vantage, the production V12 Vantage features a 6.0-litre V12 engine producing 510 bhp (380 kW / 517 PS), and 570 Nm (420 lb ft) of torque with a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h) and 0-62 mph (0-100 km/h) time of 4.2 seconds.
Designed for the focused driver, every component of the V12 Vantage has been honed with pure driving enjoyment in mind. Benefiting from race-developed materials and components, and featuring lightweight carbon fiber; performance and agility have been tuned to perfection.
Visually enticing, the V12 Vantage expresses its performance potential through its purposeful stance created by enhanced aerodynamic and cooling aids optically widening the car, while retaining traditional understated Aston Martin design. Equally inviting, the cosseting interior permits the driver to extract maximum performance ability from the car while also enjoying customary levels of Aston Martin comfort on longer journeys. High levels of power and torque are available at all engine speeds making the V12 Vantage responsive and tractable in any driving situation.
First deliveries of the V12 Vantage to customers are now underway priced at £135,000.
