What's this all about?

Aston Martin has confirmed that it is in the process of developing the most extreme road-going variant of its Vantage line-up yet. It'll be called the Vantage GT3 (hence the racing video embedded below) and just 100 examples will be sold to the eager public.

I'm listening...

Actually, other than the video and a single teaser image we don't have much else in terms of official information. Not that that's going to stop us speculating. For starters, we expect the Vantage GT3 to use a further development of the venerable 6.0-litre V12 engine, producing more power than in the current range-topper, the 573hp Vantage V12 S. It wouldn't be going out on a limb to guess that the GT3 model will come in for some weight loss too.

What do you make of the teaser pic?

While the bonnet and front bumper look new and more race-like, it's the massive fixed rear wing that really stands out. We've also seen photos of what we reckon is a development mule of the Vantage GT3 undergoing durability testing at the Nürburgring in Germany and it looks like the track is wider than that in the rest of the Vantage line-up. That probably means a lot of new bodywork front and rear. Bodes well for its on-track prowess too.

But this is a road car, right?

Technically, yes, though sources at Aston Martin tell us that it'll be at home on the race circuit too, which leads us to suspect it may even have some form of roll cage to complement its racing-like bucket seats.

Fab, when do we see the finished product?

The Vantage GT3 makes its world debut at the Geneva Motor Show this March.

Shane O' Donoghue - 7 Jan 2015