I drive a V12 Vantage and an R8 V10. I have been looking to build a dedicated track car. The Cayman R is top of the list. I have also considered the Boss 302 Laguna Seca.

But, you can buy a 4.3 vantage for less than a Cayman R.

Build the motor, junk the seats and the weight.
Upgrade the exhaust, suspension and brakes.

It is certainly not the easiest road.

Interesting or just plain crazy?

 

Many Better choices for a track car then Aston Martin, think about cost of consumables and parts that may get damaged including body panels. Operating costs of things like Ferrari challenge, porsche cup etc... And of course aston add up. Use the money on seat time, safety equipment, coaching, and tires/fuel/brakes.

 

Of course there are better choices than an Asto, but thats true of their road cars too.

Is a vantage really any more expensive than a GT3?

I have been looking into Cayman R builds and they get up there too. Most shops suggest a big bunch of mods before you head out to track days.
It seems by the time you swap brakes, suspension, seats, add a half cage, you are at 30k or so.

The Boss302 LagunaSeca cars and the Exige (in the US, not in Canada) are cheap as far as parts are concerned etc.

At the moment I take my R8 to track days. I don't race, just lapping and DE.
The R8 is an off beat choice too, but we can't all track Porsches can we? What fun is that

 

IIRC GTS V8 Vantages are ~140k GBP
A 4.3 is not going to be that quick even when stripped it is very heavy for its size
I'd be buying an Exige and tweaking it = mental track car with low running cost

 

Interesting or crazy? I'm leaning towards crazy like the other guys. An Aston is just not a great choice for a dedicated track car. It makes more sense to start with a lighter car. Also makes sense to start with a cheaper car and not junk the luxury interior, which is a big chunk of the purchase price. And Sunir is right as to parts -- maintaining the car would be unnecessarily expensive. That said, it's your money.

 

I'm in canada. You an get a 4.3l Vantage for lapping 55k. That's just a little less than a Cayman R (65-69k).
Most of the Porsche speed shops suggest 15-30k in mods to get a Cayman R sorted. You also have to junk a lot of the weight in order to get the power to weigh in your favour.
(I'm not a Porsche guy, so this is info related to me by shops that are. 80k seems to be the cheapest you could get one track ready and 90+ is the very high end))

The Exige is a cheap track choice in most countries, but not Canada. Lotus is not playing nice and has removed the car from the import list, in order to protect local dealers. That means the cars are often 30k higher than the US. As a matter of principle I won't buy one.

The Vette and the Mustang are the best choices if you want to be smart with your money. Both have huge power and track times (the Stang nearly matches the GT3 on some tracks. Impressive for 40k). Both of these cars need very little to get them sorted (apparently). Many of the parts are very cheap and available at the local garage. Even the hi-po stuff is 'cheap' in relation to Many other go fast cars.

Of course I could just keep the R8. It already in the driveway and it does not get driven. It's very easy to drive at the limit and is seriously fast.

It's not cheap, but as its a 2010, its only at most 10-20k more than a GT3.

Ilove cars, so unfortunately owning the thing is a part of the experience. Not smart for a racer, but I don't compete. I go for the experience.

Anyway, I knew it was crazy, but was curious if anyone else did it.

The world still needs some crazy people to make it interesting.

 

Totally agree that this world would be pretty boring without the crazy people =)
I'm pretty sure that most people out there would call all of us here crazy for buying such an expensive automobile to begin with. You already have a v12v and an R8.. I'm guessing money is not a huge issue.. in which case go for it. Might not be the fastest beast at the track, but you'll be happy hearing that engine sing once the interior is stripped out.. and that's all that matters!

Besides, it would be great to see the project come alive.. just like Vince's (?) white vantage he's been tuning. If money truly isn't an issue... might even think about waiting until later this year when AMR rolls out its GT4 series here... that car is built from the ground up and will be around 200 I think.. you can even get a road legal version (which would be insane... seeing a gt4 car blasting down the highway)

 

If lotus is out buy a 996 gt3
Got to be cheaper than a Cayman R and already well sorted

 

The Boss is a great dedicated track car. I had one. Just as you say, replacement parts are readily available and cheap. You just don't get excited when you go off track with it or someone spits gravel at you....it's a ford!

 

4pipes, tell us about your Boss302 Laguna Seca!!
I'm really considering this approach as it is simple and cheap, and has a huge community.

I'm not a fan of the 996, so that's out. I'd rather spend 30k more and have that big V10 howl in my ear, or save 60k and have something you can just beat on and modify without any concerns. The I between seems like too much of a sacrifice. I'm sure I will change my mind when I 'off' the R8.

I ran my AMV8 for lapping days one season and it was a lot of fun. I just got on well with that car. The noise was fantastic and it was a crowd pleaser as no one ever see's them at the track.

I just find it odd that no one thinks twice about running a 80-120k GT3 on the track, but flinches at so many other cars. My R8 is worth around 110k so I'm looking at a 30k savings against a track prepped Cayman, or 50-60k against the Boss.

I would sell the R8 V10 and buy a another Range Rover or possibly a wrangler for bad weather days. It's a little redundant with the V12 Vantage (I subway it to work).

 

Having gone down the path of building a dedicated race car before, I have a few comments to add in.

I built an E36 325iS from a full chassis into a completely stripped, caged, welded race car that I ran in Ontario Touring Car and BMWCC for a couple of years. The initial price of the car was probably $18K; the total price once it was built and sorted was probably closer to $75K (over a couple of years, naturally).

Since we've moved back to Canada, I've been giving some thought to building or buying another dedicated race car. From a pure, cost-effectiveness basis, the best route is to buy somebody else's project. $70K, and you can have a fully sorted, properly built race-car, with precious little work required. But it's not nearly as much fun, nor is it nearly as educational.

As to building a new car, I've thought about a couple of options as well. A late model Z06 is an easy place to start; good power from the start, relatively light-weight (compared to most other coupes barring the 911), and a solid after-market for parts and knowledge. But it's also too easy.

I did think seriously about a Boss 302 LS as well....despite likely being slower than the Z06, I think it would actually be more fun as a project.

Honestly, I like the idea of an Aston Martin Vantage race car project. Yes, I agree it would be more money than anything comparable from Ford, Chevy or Porsche (though a properly built, sorted 911 would likely cost similar $$$).

It would be unique, and that's a big appeal for me. On any given weekend at CASC-OR races, Mustangs, BMWs, Vettes and a few Porsches are common. You might see the occasional AC Cobra kit-car, or Lotus Super-7, and honestly I enjoy those cars more than anything else. For regional racing, nobody really cares who wins, since there is no money involved (or so little that it's irrelevant). I'd rather build a unique race car that gets it's share of appreciation and attention, as long as you have somebody comparable in terms of talent and laptimes to race against.

You'd probably have a tough time getting anyone locally with any serious knowledge about building the car (ie, what suspension works well, and what doesn't). But I'd imagine there is at least some level of expertise that exists in the UK or Europe in general, and you can probably draw upon some of that. That may apply when it comes to engine tuning and/or suspension work as well.

I think it would be a very cool project. Once you go "wheel to wheel", then no DE event can ever compare. And there are plenty of groups to race with that run 13/13 / Club Racing / Vintage rules (ie, contact is to be avoided if at all possible).

So body panel damage isn't a huge concern, if you race with a decent group. The biggest issue is whether basic components will handle the stress of racing, as a properly stiffened chassis with cage and stiffer suspension, along with R-Comps or slicks will transmit greater stresses into other components. So things like control arms, tranny mounts, engine mounts, half-shafts etc can all become the weak link. Some of that will only be discovered through trial and error. With my E36, we certainly found a lot of issues along the way (since the group I ran with....BMWCCA had mostly run E30s up to that point).


I'm still trying to justify the upgrade to a V12V (even to myself....much less the wife!), so an AMV8V race car project is a pipedream for me.

But I do think it's a good one. Not necessarily a financially good one, but it's one heck of a learning experience.



Patrick

 

My car is for sale and might make a good track car for someone. See for sale section. I'm sure you can get good money for the interior too! Its 6speed as well.

 

Penguin looks like you've already made up your mind if you must have a Vantage for a primary track car so be it, it's what you want...and yes we are all entitled to having what we want out on track, if it makes you happy then there is really nothing else to say. The premise of your thread was an inquiry as to how good of an idea it is, I am assuming, to which I will answer it is not.

The criteria here, for track cars, in my estimate from being active on track for many years and having competed and now instructing working with many students and organizations over the past decade I'll mention (1) Vantage will not going to to be the most cost effective to operate as a track car (2) it will be heavier which will effect every part of it's performance and cause more frequient consumables usage for example more frequent pad and rotor replacement (3) you will be passed by "lesser" cars often (4) the value per dollar spent ratio will not be good for a track car (5) there are much better choices.

Have you considered BMW? They are some of the best track cars around...my race car is a M3 CSL (1 of 120 built) was made to homologate the M3 in IMSA, it has a full touring car cage, wieght is 2832 lbs wet, full racing weight, closer to 2600 lbs dry. Inline 6 motor with 250 hp at the rear wheels, the car will run a blistering time at Mostport, handles like on rails, has a very effective power to weight ratio, and is easier on tires and brakes compared to a heavier car. I've competed against and beat Porsches, Ferrari, Corvette you name it. And the best part is I can put a e90 M3 4.0 Litre V8 engine in this chassis, and then the power to weight ratio gets EVEN better!!!

 

We have built and prepared a number of E36 M3 track machines over the years as well - very effective!
I also like the Boss 302 Mustang route, those cars are amazingly quick at the track.

While it would be very cool to see the Vantage track machine - as many are stating, starting with something cheaper can be a great way to get a feel for it without spending as much cash. You can always build a Vantage down the road as well (and prices will have fallen by then too).

 

Boss 302 LS

Consumer Vantage beaten in to track config just seems odd. Unless you find one with a trashed interior, or at least a buyer for the interior, it seems a shame to tear down such a fine car.