{"id":12312,"date":"2021-07-23T07:55:00","date_gmt":"2021-07-23T10:55:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/?page_id=12312"},"modified":"2023-02-22T11:40:59","modified_gmt":"2023-02-22T14:40:59","slug":"aston-martin-vantage-gte-97-spark-pw","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/aston-martin-vantage-gte-97-spark-pw\/","title":{"rendered":"Aston Martin Vantage GTE #97 &#8211; Spark (pw)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/+upload\/a-h\/aston_vantage_97_01.jpg\" alt=\"GTE\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-preformatted\"><strong>2013 Aston Martin Vantage GTE #97<\/strong>\nPilots: D. Turner, J. Adam, D. Serra\u00a0\nTeam: <em>Aston Martin Racing<\/em>\nRace: 17th overall (1st in LMGTE-Pro class) at Le Mans in <strong>2017<\/strong>\nSpark (pw) - HACHLM10 (diecast) <\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-right has-medium-gray-color has-text-color has-small-font-size\">Published 07\/23\/21<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-drop-cap\">Aston Martin first introduced the V8 Vantage in 2005. The two-seat, two-door coup\u00e9 was a GT thoroughbred, aimed at Porsche\u2019s 911 (997). Soon after, Aston released race versions of the car, starting with the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.netcarshow.com\/Aston_Martin-V8_Vantage_N24-2007-ig.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Vantage N24<\/a> in 2006. Then followed the GT4 and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.ultimatecarpage.com\/images\/car\/3539\/Aston-Martin-V8-Vantage-GT2-27388.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GT2<\/a>, in 2008. However, in 2012 FIA created the World Endurance Championship and a new class, the <em>GTE class<\/em>. This new GTE class (or LMGTE, for Le Mans) replaced the former GT2 class, specifically tailored for grand tourer racing cars. Since the Vantage GT2 was not doing great in the GT2 class, Aston replaced it in 2012 with the <strong>Vantage GTE<\/strong>. The new GTE was very similar to the GT2, though with a huge improvement in serviceability. With a new modular construction, a race team could swap the engine in less than an hour. The complicated serviceability was a major problem with the GT2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/+upload\/a-h\/aston_vantage_97_02.jpg\" alt=\"GTE\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">At Le Mans in 2017, by the end of the race GTE #97 was in second place when the LMGTE-Pro leader suffered a puncture.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>The GTE also received minor upgrades to safety and a decrease in overall weight. In the engine compartment changes were minor, and the GTE inherited the GT2\u2019s power plant. It was a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.racecar-engineering.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/03\/upamr5555555.jpg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">90\u00ba V8<\/a> displacing 4475 cm\u00b3, with 32 valves and DOHC, rated at 450 hp. In 2013 the car was further developed, to the point that 30% of all parts were new. The upgraded car was more stable, had a lower center of gravity and was more torsionally rigid. It also received a retuned engine, gaining more power &#8211; up to 600 hp (less on race day for reliability). Nonetheless, it used the same Xtrac 6-speed sequential manual gearbox. As for the previous version, Prodrive was responsible for aerodynamics and the carbon fiber body. Though the 2013 model looks almost identical to the original 2012, it is a faster and more refined car overall.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-large\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/+upload\/a-h\/aston_vantage_97_03.jpg\" alt=\"\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Compared to my other GTE (from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/aston-martin-vantage-gte-98-spark\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Spark<\/a>), this GTE #97 is just passable.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>This is chassis #GTE-005, built by Aston in 2013. It\u2019s race-debut was at the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in May of 2013, finishing in 16th. It first raced at La Sarthe the following June, however it DNF (accident). And from then on it was present at Le Mans every year up to 2017, its last race. That year it finished in 17th place overall, and first place in the LMGTE-Pro class. In scale, this GTE #97 is one of Spark\u2019s pw models. However, after my latest one (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/ford-gt40-9-spark-pw\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">GT40 #9<\/a>) I was worried&#8230;\ud83d\ude2c And, unfortunately, this is just so-so at best. The paint job is off and the mold is a bit crude (blurred body details). I think it is passable just because this is not a grail car and I got it on the cheap. Nonetheless, if you\u2019re into Astons, steer clear and go for the resin version.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>2013 Aston Martin Vantage GTE #97 Pilots: D. Turner, J. Adam, D. Serra\u00a0 Team: Aston Martin Racing Race: 17th overall (1st in LMGTE-Pro class) at Le Mans in 2017 Spark (pw) &#8211; HACHLM10 (diecast) Published 07\/23\/21 Aston Martin first introduced the V8 Vantage in 2005. The two-seat, two-door coup\u00e9 was a GT thoroughbred, aimed at &hellip; <a href=\"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/aston-martin-vantage-gte-97-spark-pw\/\" class=\"more-link\">Continue reading<span class=\"screen-reader-text\"> &#8220;Aston Martin Vantage GTE #97 &#8211; Spark (pw)&#8221;<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-12312","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"post_mailing_queue_ids":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12312","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12312"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12312\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":15278,"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/12312\/revisions\/15278"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.w-143.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12312"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}