Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3 Race Car Goes Testing, Still Looks Ferocious

November 22, 2011 at 4:49pm by Alexander Stoklosa

This past summer Aston Martin revealed the V-12 Vantage GT3 race car—and its $490,000 price tag—and now the company has begun testing the gorgeous racer in England. For those who don’t regularly follow smokin’ hot GT3 race car news, the Vantage GT3’s 6.0-liter V-12 engine is related to the roadgoing V-12 Vantage’s and produces more than 600 hp and 516 lb-ft of torque. To slow things back down, the GT3 gets six-piston front and four-piston rear brakes.

The V-12 Vantage GT3 is eligible to compete in a variety of European series, the FIA GT3 championships and the Nürburgring 24-Hour most prominent among them. It still has plenty of durability testing left, but we’re already anxious to see what this gnarly machine looks like in racing livery and covered in the filth of battle.

Tags: Aston Martin, Aston Martin Vantage, Aston Martin Vantage GT3 |

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Subaru Says Turbocharging to Continue for Next-Gen WRX/STI, STI Will Still Have 300+ HP

November 17, 2011 at 12:30pm by David Gluckman

Besides confirming the U.S.-market name for its new small crossover, Subaru also used the L.A. auto show to reassure the assembled media that the rear-drive-only BRZ doesn’t signal the end of its AWD hot rods. It comes on the heels of the news that the next-generation WRX and STI will for the first time use their own distinct platform, thereby splitting the enthusiast models from the workaday Impreza on which they’ve previously been based.

At L.A., Subaru also said that the WRX will continue to be turbocharged, dusting fools with a forced-induction version of the carmaker’s new 2.0-liter “FB” boxer four. The STI version will still produce over 300 hp, the company said, and we believe curb weights for both will come down as a result of the new platform. As you’d expect with the cars on different platforms, the next-gen WRX and STI will drop “Impreza” from their names when they arrive a couple of years from now, giving Subaru a trio of three-letter cars for enthusiasts.

Tags: Subaru, Subaru WRX, Subaru WRX STI |

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