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Aston Martin reveals Vantage GTE art car for Le Mans

The Gulf livery is undoubtedly one of the most iconic in all of motorsport, but at the 24 Hours of Le Mans this year, Aston Martin will be running an altogether more original color scheme. Looking like something between a television test pattern and a 3D projection viewed without the requisite glasses, the livery is actually designed as an optical illusion, to distort perception and trick the eye into thinking the car is moving even when it's sitting still. Of course it still features the unmistakable Gulf logos, and is made up of alternating bars of orange, yellow, blue, and black. It's the work of German artist Tobias Rehrberger, renowned for his abstract experimental art, and will appear on the #97 Vantage GTE this coming weekend when the famous endurance race gets under way in Western France. ASTON MARTIN UNVEILS REHBERGER VANTAGE GTE - Aston Martin Racing unveils 24 Hours of Le Mans art car - Design revealed to racing fans in Le Mans town centre - Unique effects on Vantage GTE created by artist Tobias Rehberger 8 June, Le Mans: Aston Martin Racing is today unveiling a 24 Hours of Le Mans art car designed by artist Tobias Rehberger. The unique creation gives the Gulf #97 Vantage GTE the illusion of movement and speed, even when static. Rehberger is renowned for his abstract art and optical effects that distort perception and has received numerous international prizes and awards, including the Golden Lion for best artist at the 2009 Venice Biennale. Aston Martin Racing invited him to design a livery that would work with the Gulf Vantage GTE's lines and colours in a way never attempted before. Thirty years since the first art car ran in the 24-hour race, Rehberger set out to create a design that uses geometric shapes and patterns to give the car, when static, the impression of movement and speed. The German artist, who will attend Saturday's race as a guest of Aston Martin Racing, explained: "My design for the Aston Martin art car is rooted in my interest in distorted perception and related phenomena like auto moving patterns, optical effects, camouflage and visual confusion, which I have addressed in many works before. "In this case, the design is based on a geometric optical effect pattern.

Aston Martin's biggest investor considers increasing its stake

LONDON — The biggest investor in Aston Martin is considering buying another 3% stake, offering to increase its holding after shares in the luxury carmaker crashed almost 50% since its listing nine months ago. Strategic European Investment Group, part of the Italian private equity group Investindustrial, owns 31% of Aston Martin. It only wants to buy a maximum 3% stake but has to make an offer to all shareholders due to its already large holding. It has secured agreements from existing shareholders such as a group of Kuwait-based investors to back the move. It is offering to pay 10 pounds per share, the price at which the shares closed on Friday. It must make a decision by July 29. Aston Martin has struggled since it listed in October last year. Its shares fell on the opening day and are now down 47 percent. The company's recent results have been hit by a need to invest more in its manufacturing plants and expand its vehicle offering, leading to higher costs.  Related Video:

Aston Martin previews a bespoilered Vantage; could it be a new AMR?

Aston Martin has teased a new sports car from its official Twitter account. The image shows the car's silhouette with a big green and lime swoosh above it. The car appears to be a Vantage variant, with the addition of a rear spoiler and Y-spoke wheels. It's also finished in the same Aston Martin Racing Green as its 2021 Formula One race car livery. The spoiler and colors evoke the new Vantage safety car that made its debut over the weekend at the pre-season test in Bahrain. That car features an AMRG paint job with a Lime Essence pinstripe along the front air splitter, side skirts, and rear diffuser. It's also equipped with a rear wing not found on standard Vantages. Like the car in the shadowy teaser, it also wore the optional vaned grille as opposed to the standard mesh. Could Aston Martin be taking a page from the General Motors playbook and making a pace car edition Vantage? That would be uncharacteristic of the British marque, so perhaps a new Vantage AMR is more likely. The previous AMR was limited to 200 units and, despite having the same power as regular Vantages, made waves for letting you row your own gears with a seven-speed manual. Since then the stick shift has been made standard for the Vantage, but the AMR boasted many other features that set it apart — carbon ceramic brakes, carbon fiber trim, forged wheels, a mechanical limited-slip differential, and 200 fewer pounds of curb weight. On the other hand, the F1 pace car's menu of modifications seems like it could easily form the basis for a new AMR. The Vantage safety car increased output of its 4.0-liter twin-turbo V8 by 25 horsepower to 528. The peak torque of 505 lb-ft was unchanged, but Aston Martin claims it could be sustained for longer. Additionally, the transmission was strengthened, the chassis stiffened with underbody bracing, and modifications were made to suspension, steering and dampers. It's not clear whether the pace car's bespoke splitter is on the teaser car. Aston Martin gave no information to accompany the teaser, so we'll just have to wait until March 22, when the car is scheduled for a full reveal. Aston Martin VantageDBXOfficial Safety and Medical cars of Formula One03 View 28 Photos