The Aston Vantage GT3 is coming

This is our first taste of Aston Martin's hardcore new Vantage. The most extreme Vantage to date, no less.

As teasers go, Aston has nailed it. All we can surmise from the picture and video are that it is called the Vantage GT3, has a humongous spoiler and that it'll sound fairly spectacular. Though, Cygnet aside, we can't really name a recent Aston that hasn't fulfilled that last brief...

A camouflaged Vantage has been seen putting in time at the Nürburgring recently, its huge wheel arches accommodating larger track widths front and rear. While it wore no wing, it seems a safe assumption the GT3's internals lay beneath and that it will be a good dose wider than a standard Vantage.

And as this will be Vantage performance at its zenith, it's a given it will be V12-powered too. The current V12 Vantage S uses a 565bhp 5.9-litre V12 powering the rear wheels via a seven-speed paddleshift gearbox. Its top speed is 205mph.

Expect more power for the GT3, while a higher top speed depends on its gearbox choice. Going manual would likely drop it below the 200mph mark, so a continuation of the automated transmission but with swifter shift times seems a better bet. Given that Porsche's GT3s have turned their back on manuals, stick-shifting is no longer an absolute hallmark of a hardcore special.

There will be weight saving, though, with less emphasis on interior luxury a probable catalyst to trimming the kilos.

Officially a road car, Aston will no doubt be keen to extol the Vantage GT3's track credibility too. Just how well it stacks up on circuit will depend on how much weight can be wheedled out, but needless to say it's a tantalising prospect.

A limited run of around 100 Vantage GT3s is rumoured, with firmer details when it takes a bow at the Geneva motor show at the beginning of March. That gives you a couple of months to get saving. Given a V12 Vantage S commands £138,000, something north of £150,000 seems probable for a car more extremely developed and fewer in number. Watch this space...