David King (Aston Martin): “Determined to win at the Nürburgring”

With its new Vantage GTE, Aston Martin is focused on the debut of its new weapon for its program carried out with Prodrive in the World ChampionshipEndurance this season, but Gaydon's immediate future also involves the GT3 and GT4 categories.

The GT3 and its V8 block will replace the venerable Vantage V12 and are currently continuing their development, before taking an important part in the competition-customer strategy for the British brand.

“We are in the middle of testing with customers, indicated David King, vice-president and head of special operations at Aston Martin Lagonda, on the sidelines of the 6 Hours of Silverstone.

The GT3 is already a very competitive platform with offerings from other manufacturers. Development is focused on making it as easy as possible for amateur pilots but also attractive for professionals.

We have internal targets (numbers) for this car and given the interest, we should achieve them. The most important thing for the first year is not to rush.

We want to have cars with key customer teams, who can demonstrate what the car is worth, and then sell more of them in the second and third year. It’s quality that takes precedence over quantity for the GT3 in year 1.

There are very strong teams in Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup, in British GT, but also in ADAC GT Masters, where we have not been represented for several years. We want a serious partner in Germany. But also in North America.

We have not yet fully exploited the opportunities in North America. We are actively looking for a partner to work together on a customer car distribution program. »

Une autre volonté d’Aston Martin semble se tourner vers les 24 Heures du Nürburgring. Si la firme anglaise était au départ de manière officielle cette année, elle n’a pu rivaliser avec Porsche pour la victoire finale, mais David King fixe la réussite dans l’Enfer Vert avec la nouvelle GT3 comme un vrai objectif pour Aston Martin. 

« We are determined to win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. No non-German brand has won since the Viper in 2002, so it's tough. It takes a complete effort, with full VLN engagement, multiple cars lined up. »

Discover the rest of our interview with David King, in issue 2179 of AUTOhebdo, available now in digital version and on newsstands.