Aston Martin has announced that their racing division is selling two racing cars to collectors for the bargain price of £250,000 each. The first is a V-8 Vantage GTE chassis No. X2 that competed in the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 2012. It qualified in third place in the GTE AM class but retired from the race. As it’s been prepared for display purposes, Aston has taken the engine and gearbox out to make the car lighter and easier to transport. We’ve not been told if the buyer can opt to have the engine and transmission replaced.
The other car that’s being offered is an Aston Martin DBR1-2 that saw action in the LMP1 class during the 2009 to 2011 seasons. It took fourth place overall at Le Mans and won the Le Mans Series Championship in 2009, achieving these results with gas rather than petrol power. Its last major win was at the 2011 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
Aston is expecting the cars to be sold to businesses rather than collectors, as the British super car maker believes they’ll be used for promotional purposes. To solidify that part of the deal includes advertising space on the doors of their No. 97 GTE PRO car which is being campaigned in the World Endurance Championship. The buyer will also have the chance to bring 10 guests to a race in the championship and to enjoy Aston’s luxurious hospitality.
It would be a shame to see two racing cars altered for promotional purposes as Astonsuggest, so we hope that they change their mind and sell to a collector who will preserve them in their existing liveries and bring them out for historic car events like the Goodwood Festival of Speed.
from Eurocarblog
