Overall rating:

If you've got a healthy looking bank balance then a trip to Aston Martin could see you sat behind the wheel of a bona-fide racer. From road-legal track day car to GT class honours challenger, Aston Martin Racing is happy to be of service. We sat in the passenger seat with Darren Turner to find out just how much car a fat chequebook can actually buy you.

Key Facts

Model tested: Aston Martin Vantage GT4 (2012 season)
Engine: 4.7-litre V8 petrol
Transmission: six-speed sequential, rear-wheel drive
Body style: two-door coupé
Suspension: front and rear fully-adjustable double wishbone
Brakes: four-piston mono-bloc front calipers and race-developed anti-lock brakes
Wheels: 18-inch cast magnesium
Power: 450hp

In the Metal:

The Vantage GT4 is actually a production-based racer. How much it differs depends on the depths of your wallet - the more money you have the more serious the car looks. But no matter what aerodynamic aids are added, how low the suspension is or what race-only bits are added, it's still very recognisable as an Aston Martin Vantage. And when the road car looks as sexy as this one, that's a very good thing indeed.

There are a few more differences to the cabin; first of all you need to negotiate the roll cage for entry, and where there are usually layers of carpet and sound deadening the bare metal chassis is on show for all to see. The centre console retains its shape, including some of the switchgear positioning, but now it's swathed in functional rather than finely executed carbon-fibre while the leather-lined chairs are replaced with a pair of bucket seats and harnesses. But despite the extra instrumentation and switchgear, the GT4 is still very much an Aston Martin Vantage, and from the passenger seat at least looks anything but intimidating.

Driving it:

There's a queue to slip into the passenger seat with Darren, and it looks like I'm fourth on the list - on account of my fat head needing the XL helmet currently in use by one of the other 'victims'. Waiting patiently it's not long until I'm strapping the lid to my bonce and the GT4 is rumbling down the pit lane towards me. The door swings open and another journalist falls out over the cage onto the pit lane. Before I have a chance to demonstrate my roll-cage acrobatics DT calls for the mechanics to check the rear offside tyre. Seems he thinks there's a puncture, or some other malady which is playing havoc with the car's handling.

A rather unscientific fondle of the tread later (they save the checking of pressures for after my return) it seems the passenger seat is ready for me. Actually that roll cage isn't so restrictive, certainly less so than many others I've had to negotiate. Sliding into the tight bucket seat (no one said Aston Martin's culinary hospitality is anything but as impressive as the cars) Turner tells me he was given one job for this stage of the day: keep hold of one harness strap. Which he forgot about. So that's the one I'm currently sitting on.

Strap retrieved, slotted into place and pulled tight there's no escaping even if I wanted to. It's hot in here, the air conditioning turned down for the moment (yes it has air conditioning), but there's little else to be worried about. After all I'm sat next to a pro, who's probably driven round Silverstone's National Circuit more times than I've had hot dinners or something equally clichéd.

Still, it's with surprise that I observe the speed we hit still on the right hander exit of the narrow pit lane; it's clear that not only does the GT4 have some serious poke, but that rear rubber is still gripping hard. The last time I was here was only a week ago, in a rival's road car admittedly, but the difference is startling. Of course much of that is down to the Aston being piloted by a professional driver, and not by my ham-fisted amateur approach. Into Maggots and Becketts DT nails the car on the brakes; if I'd tried that I'd have been in the grass... then the wall.

There's some trail-braking into Brooklands, where the nose of the car brushes past the apex cone with what appears to be millimetres to spare each and every time. Through Luffield and Woodcote I can feel the forces exerted on my body, my head buffeted against the seat and roll cage as my neck inevitably gives up the fight. I see over 130mph before Darren is back on the brakes for Copse and onto the next lap. By the time we've completed three it's time to head into the pits again, ready to check those pressures and for the next victim to be loaded in.

What you get for your Money:

At entry-level (somewhere around £105,000) you'll have yourself one of the most capable, and beautiful, track day cars available. Turn up to the track in one of these and, providing you have the skill to match the gear, without doubt you'll be labelled the coolest person there. You don't even have to be that patient - Aston Martin Racing can complete your order from specification to delivery in less than two months.

But if you have the cash, the Aston Martin Vantage GT4 can be turned into something so much more. At the top end of the scale (around £140,000) it becomes a serious bit of kit - enough to challenge for honours in world-class GT championships. Along with the race built engine, these cars benefit from Koni adjustable suspension, rose joints, endurance specification brake pads, Bosch developed traction control and ABS and a 120-litre endurance spec fuel tank. There's also the option of a GT4 electrical diagnostic system, Cosworth D2 or D3 data logging and even air jacks.

Keep digging deep and the package doesn't stop there. Aston Martin Racing will even offer driver training, coaching owners into getting their race licences and supporting them at track and testing days. If you're serious, and have another £20,000 (per person, based on two sharing the car) you can even go racing with the team, enjoying its support and mechanical know-how when needed.

Worth Noting

Aston Martin Racing doesn't only offer GT4 cars, but also GTE and GT3 models too. We were completing the National Circuit in around one minute dead, a time Turner reckons could be slashed by another two seconds without my weight on board. Put him in a GTE specification Aston Martin though and the time drops further - to a scarcely believable (from where we were sitting anyway) 50 seconds!

Summary

This is a seriously impressive piece of kit, from the attention to detail that goes into the build to the way it handles itself round the track. And when the entry-level model only costs £15,000 more than the road car, it's pretty good value as well. Consider the options available to enter real racing and the support on offer too, and it's hard not to fall for the considerable appeal of the Aston Martin Vantage GT4.