Aston Martin DBR9 to wear classic Gulf livery at Le Mans
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Aston Martin will be back at the 24 Hours of Le Mans for 2008 with some familiar colors to motorsports enthusiasts. The two Aston Martin DBR9s that will be defending their 2007 GT1 class win will don blue the classic blue and orange Gulf Oil livery worn by such Le Mans-winning cars as the Ford GT40 in 1968 (more than a little ironic now that Aston has been sold by Ford). No doubt, the 40th anniversary of the first Le Mans victory of a Gulf sponsored car has played a part in the company's decision to sponsor this year's DBR9 efforts.
The two Aston Martin DBR9s are numbered 007 (fittingly) and produce around 600 horsepower each. Aston Martin will also provide a DBR9 V-12 engine for use in a LMP1 prototype race car fielded by Charouz Racing Systems at Le Mans this year. The Charouz entry uses a closed Lola chassis and Aston Martin Racing engineers will provide support to the team for the 24 hour race as well as during the Le Mans Series racing season. The effort is made possible by new LMP regulations that allow for the use of a GT1 class engine in a prototype chassis.
Aston has also announced that it will be contesting the GT2S class in the American Le Mans Series for the 2008 season with its recently announced bio-ethanol-powered Vantage GT2.
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