Aston Martin introduces upgraded F1 Safety Car

Since 2012, Aston Martin has been one of two carmakers which provides the Official Safety Cars for Formula 1 races, the other being Mercedes-AMG since 1996. At the Dutch Grand Prix recently, the British carmaker – which also has a F1 racing team – replaced the existing Vantage S with the latest model which is the most performance-focused Vantage ever created.

With its hand-built 4.0-litre Twin-Turbo V8 producing 680 ps/800 Nm, this specially-equipped Vantage S  can go from standstill to 100 km/h in 3.4 seconds and reach 325 km/h. This level of performance qualifies it to lead the world’s fastest racing cars when it is required to do so following major incidents on the track.

New features
For the latest version, there are additional aerodynamic upgrades, including a new rear deck spoiler and the regular additions such as the FIA lightbar have been engineered for optimum stability and visibility during deployment.

F1 fans will also notice the new centrally-mounted bonnet blades to optimise the extraction of hot air from the ‘hot-V’ configured V8 engine, and a full width decklid spoiler, which increases rear downforce and helps to keep the overall balance of downforce biased to the front. This gives Official Safety Car driver Bernd Maylander exceptional turn-in response and a high level of cornering grip.

“The introduction of the Vantage S as the Official FIA Safety Car of Formula 1 represents yet another clear step forward in the Vantage’s performance capability, exhibiting capabilities that further allow me to effectively respond quickly and safely when we receive the call for on-track deployment. I’m delighted to be one of the very first to drive the Vantage S and look forward to experiencing the world’s greatest circuits in the most performance focused Vantage to date,” said Maylander, who has been the FIA’s Safety Car Driver for the past 25 years.

50 years of the F1 Safety Car