Aston boss to race Rapide

ASTON Martin chief Dr Ulrich Bez is the latest car company boss to put his reputation on the line by committing to the ultimate track test of man and machine.

The multi-skilled auto industry executive will line up on the grid for next month’s annual Nurburgring 24-hour endurance race at the daunting German public road course over May 15-16.

In doing so, Dr Bez will follow in the footsteps of Toyota Motor Corporation president Akio Toyoda, who finished 87th overall in last year’s race driving a pre-production version of his own company’s upcoming Lexus LFA supercar.

While this year’s gruelling Nurburgring endurance classic will be contested by not one but two production LFAs for the first time (in the hands of four decorated Japanese and German race drivers), Dr Bez will also compete in the production vehicle class at the event – in his company’s upcoming Rapide sedan.

Due on sale here from July at a price of $366,280, the sleek grand tourer – up to just 40 of which will head Down Under from a global production run of 2000 vehicles – will make its highly public global competition debut in near-standard trim.

Aston Martin’s first four-door runs the same 350kW/600Nm V12 as the DB9 but drives through a rear-mounted ZF six-speed automatic transmission and is 254mm longer overall but retains the coupe-like silhouette of the two-door model.

Left: Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

It will be raced in the 38th ADAC Nurburgring 24-Hour by Dr Bez and a team of engineers from the bespoke British brand with only obligatory safety modifications, including a rollcage, plus weight-saving and suspension changes and slick tyres.

“This race represents the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sportscar,” said Dr Bez. “It subjects the car to the toughest possible assessment under public scrutiny.

“The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sportscar, and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars.” Aston Martin has contested the Nurburgring event for the past five years with race versions of both the V8 Vantage and V12 Vantage. An example of the latter will also take part in this year’s event.

While Lexus recently also revealed a Nurburgring Edition version of the LFA, the emergence of the race-prepped Rapide follows the recent appearance of the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 racecar, which will available to order later this year before being homologated for international FIA GT competition in 2011.

Aston Martin is the latest car-maker to reveal a race-prepped version of its newest production model, with other recent examples including Ford new Fiesta World Rally Championship contender, BMW’s FIA GT3-spec Z4 racer and Volvo’s upcoming S60 sedan, which will do battle in the Belgian Touring Car Series – not with the new model’s top-spec 3.0-litre T6 diesel but a standardised mid-mounted 3.5-litre petrol V6.

The Chevrolet/Holden Cruze sedan has also has just started its campaign in this year’s British Touring Car Championship, while Toyota Australia this week announced its new Camry Hybrid will contest the 19th Targa Tasmania road rally starting in Launceston on April 27.