Posts tagged Racing
Aston Martin Vulcan leading the way for the future of oil changes
Nov 10th
Castrol is working hard to reinvent the oil change, which frankly sounds about as easy as reinventing the wheel. After a couple of years of developing what they are calling Nexcel, they have done something special. The Nexcel unit itself holds oil and the filter all in one container and simply fits into a base within the car’s engine bay. Once the recommended oil change interval is reached the Nexcel unit can be changed out in 90 seconds by simply lifting the unit out and replacing it with another one. The unit is sent back to be reconditioned for reuse and can be reconditioned 5 or 6 times before its service life is over.
We first found about this new product from an article on Autoblog.com and it peaked our interest that the Aston Martin Vulcan was going to be the first car to implement Nexcel. While the Vulcan is a track only car, Castrol UK worked closely with Aston Martin to develop Nexcel and test it in the real world, retrofitting Aston Martin’s cars with Nexcel and have been testing in England for the last couple of years. After talking to a representative from Castrol at SEMA we found out that other manufacturers are very interested, one being Ford as they get the street version the GT ready for 2017. There are also a couple of companies with fleets of long service life heavy duty trucks looking to retrofit this technology for their use as it would pay off over the life of the truck as they are in service for hundreds of thousands of miles.
Bentley Trip to Road America for the Pirelli World Challenge
Jun 30th
Dyson Racing, Bentley’s factory backed race team in the Pirelli World Challenge series, took to the track at Road America in Plymouth, WI this past weekend with two of their Continental GT3-R race cars. Bentley was also kind enough to extend an offer to some of our clients to join them for the weekend at the track to watch the race. We booked a private plane and luxury lodging and Bentley handled the rest, providing cars for us to drive to and from the track, a catered hospitality suite to watch the race from, as well as integrating us with the crew and drivers in the paddock.
For those that missed out, VIP accommodations for this trip included:
- Private airfare
- 2 nights at The American Club in Kohler, WI
- All food and beverages
- A round of golf on the famous Whistling Straits course, home of the 2015 PGA Championship
- Bentley vehicles, including a Continental GTC Speed, a Flying Spur V8s, a Mulsanne Speed, and a Continental GT3-R
- Complimentary tickets to the Pirelli World Challenge race at Road America
- VIP parking and access to the Bentley hospitality suite
- Private paddock tours and meet and greets with the crew and drivers
Everyone on the trip had a great time and we look forward to planning similar trips alongside Bentley for our customers in the future.
Aston Martin Vulcan Revealed
Feb 25th
Aston Martin has announced that it will be bringing its extensive racing heritage to Gentlemen Racers by way of the Vulcan. The Aston Martin Vulcan project was born to give the customer an experience of performance driving like no other. Ownership allows participation in many performance driving events worldwide, unlike programs from competing performance brands. And Aston Martin will work with owners to ensure they can take the Vulcan to the tracks they want to drive and that it will meet the various sound requirements. Once you have committed to ownership, Aston Martin invites you to Gaydon for a unique commissioning experience to select the colors and finish for the car. Additionally, they take measurements for seating, steering wheel grips and custom racing suit and helmet.
Prior to taking delivery, Aston Martin will offer intensive track training for each customer via their Fast Track Training program. Experienced professional racers will offer a chance to refine driving skills and technique through practical and theoretical training events using Aston Martin’s already extensive stable of performance cars like the V12 Vantage S, One-77 and the Vantage GT4 race car to further build the customer experience.
If you haven’t been impressed so far, lets cover the car itself: The Vulcan boasts some amazing features like carbon fiber removable panels surrounding a rigid carbon fiber tub. Power comes from a 7 liter V12 engine producing 800 plus horsepower which is set back behind the front axle line to ensure an excellent weight balance. All of this power is channeled to a six speed sequential gearbox mounted in the rear of the car by way of a magnesium torque tube housing a carbon fiber drive shaft. To tame all this power, the brakes are carbon ceramic racing discs with 6 piston front and 4 piston rear controlled by a driver adjustable Bosch anti-lock braking system. Push rod suspension is mounted to all four corners with 4 way adjustable DSSV dampers.
Safety is also very important to Aston Martin, so they have worked very hard to design the Vulcan with FIA race requirements. This will include Frontal Head Restraint, 6 point racing harness, roll cage, fuel cell and fire extinguisher. All of these safety features allow the Vulcan to run one-make races or other open races.
Aston Martin is building a street legal version of the Vantage GT3 race car
Jan 7th
As you might’ve heard, Morrie’s Luxury Auto just announced that Aston Martin will be coming to Minnesota soon. While the showroom will be stocked with plenty of beautiful and fast grand touring cars ranging from the V8 Vantage up to the Vanquish, we just discovered via Jalopnik that Aston Martin is cooking up a more potent street car that shares more DNA with their racing efforts than any other car they offer today.
Rumor has it that Aston Martin has the Porsche GT3 RS squarely in their sights, and as such, will be differentiated from the swoopy, sensual V8 and V12 Vantages by offering a big rear wing and wider bodywork aimed at providing some extra downforce. Meanwhile, a pumped-up V12 from the V12 Vantage S will likely provide over 600 HP of grunt to power it around the track.
Think of it as one heck of a final send off for the Vantage lineup before it gets redesigned in the next few years.
Bentley Racing Team at the 2014 Pirelli World Challenge
Jul 8th
The North American debut of the Bentley GT3 racecar was quite the show. Coming out for the Cadillac Grand Prix at Road America, all eyes were on the Bentley as it took to the grid for the first time. With Butch Leitzinger behind the wheel and a full Bentley support staff, it was no question that Bentley came prepared. Unfortunately, during the qualifying session the rain became a problem. Race officials determined to switch it to a practice session. And while the transponder was not properly functioning in the Bentley which precluded them from recording an official lap time, seeing the Bentley charge up the long straight through the finish line even in the rain was a pretty spectacular sight. Unofficially it was calculated that Butch Leitzinger was able to drive the Bentley in the 2:08.9 range at Road America.
Bentley had two races during its North American debut at Road America. The race on Friday provided for some intense battles between Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren, and Bentley. Because Bentley had no points, what with this being their first race, they were staged at the back of the pack. Knowing they needed to really fire on all cylinders with minimal mistakes, Butch Leitzinger performed well under the rain conditions. During the 2nd race on Saturday, Bentley was able to secure a 2nd starting position and throughout the race fought hard against the competition. While they did not bring in a podium finish, it was still a great weekend of Bentley racing.
Powered by a V8 engine with around 600bhp, this GT racecar is unlike anything Bentley has produced before. To begin with it is the only Bentley Continental GT that is RWD, of course for racing this suits the car just fine. Included in the GT3 racecar we find an xTrac 6-speed sequential transaxle gearbox, racing clutch, and steering wheel mounted paddle shifters. Looking to Bentley’s recent past the only thing that could come close with regards to power and handling would be their W12 Supersports, which sadly won’t be making a return to the production line. Clearly the production model, GT3-R, will fill the Supersports shoes nicely.
What sets the Bentley GT3 apart from other Bentley racecars is that Bentley has also produced a road-going GT3R, but only in a limited production run of 300 units. From what we are able to gather at Morrie’s Luxury Auto it appears that 100 GT3Rs were available for sale in the US, however they are all sold out.
For more race coverage make sure to visit our blog often.
Maserati takes Superstars Series title
Oct 25th
Truth be told, I hadn’t heard of the Superstars Series, which is similar to the German DTM, Japanese Super GT, and Australian V8 Supercars series. The competitive field is made up of naturally aspirated V8 two and four door cars like the Mercedes C63 AMG, BMW M3, Audi RS4, Cadillac CTS-V, Jaguar S-Type R, Porsche Panamera S, and Maserati Quattroporte EVO. The EVO is a specialty race version of the Quattroporte featuring the bad ass widebody setup you see above, in full race trim.
Driver Andrea Bertolini drove his Swiss team Maserati Quattroporte to the championship, after trailing by 20 points leading into the final races at Vallelunga. Bertolini is a driver and test driver for Maserati and Ferrari, and previously won the FIA GT series in the Maserati MC12 in 2006, 2008, 2009, and 2010 – the only Italian driver to have won four international FIA titles.
Here’s a rather raw video of some highlights from the race at Monza, earlier this year:
The Swiss team was founded in 2008, to kick off the Maserati Quattroporte Superstars project. Based in Switzerland, the team now consists of 13 people, with Engineer Giuseppe Angiulli acting as Technical Director. Giuseppe’s experience covers 5 years in F1, 2 years in Alfa’s DTM project, 2 years working for BMW Motorsport, and work on ALMS prototypes. He collaborated with Michelotto Corse in developing the Ferrari F360 and F430, and worked with team Villorba Corse’ F430 in the Italian GT series. He worked for Vitaphone racing for two years as Track Engineer while they competed in the FIA GT championship, running Maserati MC12s.
Here are some more photos of the fantastic Maserati Quattroporte EVO: