Ooooh. I like that. What is it?

Well, you know the new Aston Martin Vantage coupe, the sexy one?

Yes...

Well, this is the racing version. Well, two of the three racing versions. We've already seen the Le Mans-spec GTE variant, which will be raced in the upcoming World Endurance Championship campaign by the works Aston Martin Racing squad, but this is our first look at the customer-friendly GT3 and GT4 versions.

What are those then?

Only two of the most successful private racing cars ever. Aston made 42 of the old V12 Vantage GT3 racers, and 124 of the V8-engined GT4 version, and between them they've racked up a whole host of trophies and titles. Those include the British GT Championship title in 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016, plus the 2017 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup ProAM title, and the Blancpain GT Asian Series, and the North European GT4 ProAm title in 2016.

These new ones have some serious stuff to live up to.

Yep, but they've already gotten off to a good start. Both GT3 and GT4 versions will use the 4.0-litre biturbo V8 engine from the Vantage coupe road car, and that's already a race-proven engine as Mercedes uses it in the GT3 version of the AMG GT Coupe. Plus, Aston Martin Racing, which will build both versions at its factory in Banbury, is using a lot of the experience gained from designing the GTE Le Mans-spec works racing Vantage.

Aston Martin Racing Managing Director John Gaw said: "We are very proud of the heritage we have established as a leading supplier of customer GT cars, with customers racing our cars all around the world. We told the clients who first purchased our GT3 cars seven years ago, that they would be buying a car that would be capable of winning races for years to come. This year we have already proved that with the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3's successes in the British GT Championship. That longevity is something that separates us from other manufacturers. I expect the new GT3 and GT4 to be just as competitive as the cars they are replacing and to remain so for a similar period of time."

David King, President, Aston Martin Racing, added: "In motorsport the qualities you're most striving for are a competitive edge, driveability and the durability to deliver upon it. We've been able to deliver this to our customers for more than a decade with our Vantage GT4 and more recently with the V12 Vantage GT3. In the new Vantage GT3 and GT4, we intend to build on those attributes as well as continuing to deliver the best-looking cars in the paddock."