Being a pro instructor at Monticello Motor Club for the past 3 years now, I have been very fortunate to drive some of the most high performance cars out there. Whether its historic cars, main stream exotic sports cars or carbon fiber open wheel and sports cars; the Aston Martin GT4 race car is, hands down, one of the most comfortable and enjoyable race cars I have ever driven. The looks of the Aston Martin GT4 is stunning and the roar of the motor ripping down the back straight will give you goosebumps. The handling of the race car will give confidence to the novice of drivers within a few laps. In addition, this race car won’t cost you an arm and a leg to maintain like some of the other race cars out there! The versatility of this car should be noted as well. Not only is it cost effective, but you can enter this car in basically all the major race series here in the US and overseas. The Aston Martin GT4 is hands down a car that everyone should get behind the wheel of!
At first glance, the body lines of the Aston Martin GT4 are truly astonishing. Every corner of the car is dynamically placed to flow perfectly with the next. Many of the people that have had the chance to drive the GT4 over the weekend couldn’t get over how the car looked. Many raved about the aero package on the race car as well. The carbon fiber front splitter adds a nice touch to the front of the car and also provides front end downforce. Looking from the front to the rear of the GT4 you will notice the carbon fiber side skits on the car and the side air accent pieces on the car. Finally, getting to the rear of the car you notice the fully functional rear wing. This in my opinion adds the final touch to a race car. The wing is full carbon fiber which gives the driver all the downforce needed to rip around the track.
After getting yourself all strapped in to the 6-point harness, it’s time to fire up the motor. In all honesty, the Aston Martin GT4 motor sounds amazing. Its what a real race car should always sound like. Immediately, all you feel is the rumble of the V8 motor. On a positive, it is very easy to leave you pit box – no clutch! The Aston Martin has two options: paddle shift or the standard H pattern. In this case, for this weekend, we mostly used the paddle shift. With this, it made it very easy for the driver to leave the pit boxes. With the car in neutral, one click on the right paddle shift and first gear is selected. Like I mentioned before, no clutch, which makes it a breeze to get on track. The Aston Martin GT4 has a 6-speed gear box, which allow speeds close to at least 160mph at Monticello Motor Club. Hearing this race car at full tilt down the back straight will make you smile; this car sounds amazing!
The handling of this race car is one of the most stable race cars that I have ever driven. Even for the drivers that haven’t had a large amount of seat time behind and type of race car were blown away by how stable the Aston Martin GT4 was around the race track. With the GT4 having a 50/50 weight distribution, the handling of the car was extremely balanced; no understeer or oversteer. Well, maybe the occasional oversteer on track out when you let the V8 motor rip! Not only was I blown away from the simple handling of the race car but I was also amazed by how well the GT4 was under excessive braking. Ripping down the back straight at Monticello Motor Club and having to slow the car down quickly for the next set of corners – this car handled flawlessly. This race car would stop on a dime! Not to mention the auto blip down shift, which makes everything a breeze! I was very surprised how quickly the GT4 reduced its speed. With the down force that I had mentioned before, it reminded me of the braking abilities of a high downforce open wheel car. The braking was that impressive!
For the more experienced drivers that jumped behind the wheel of the Aston Martin GT4, they too were taken aback by how comfortable they had felt within just a lap or two. The handling of this race car suits every driving style. The GT4 is truly a race car that anyone can get used to with just a few sessions under their belt!
Finally, as I previously stated, the Aston Martin GT4 can be driven in all major race series here in the USA and in Europe with just a few simple changes depending of what series you would enter. For this race car, you get more bang for the buck! The up keep and maintenance of the GT4 issurprisingly cost effective compared to GT3 Cup cars or even Ferrari Challenge race cars. The engine rebuilds for the Aston Martin GT4 only happen every two race seasons! These motors are so reliable and won’t cost you an arm and a leg to refresh. Other than typical maintenance like changing tires and brakes, this race car is bullet proof.
In conclusion, I was completely blown away with the Aston Martin GT4 race car. The body lines, the sound of the motor, handling and how cost effective the car is compared to some of the major raced cars out on the track. I can’t find a single reason why drivers wouldn’t love this race car. Its a driver’s dream!