Aston Martin officially confirmed they will be competing in 2011 Le Mans 24 Hour race and they bring along a new LMP1 race car. They say this car is designed from the ground up with an Aston Martin open cockpit monocoque chassis and it’s even got a brand-new petrol-powered engine. They say it will compete for for top honours, and won’t easily bow for the dominating diesel monsters. The work is still in progress on the new chassis and engine at Aston Martin Racing’s headquarters in Banbury, UK and the first of a limited number of six cars will run in early 2011.

Aston Martin Chairman, David Richards said: “Having won the GT category twice at Le Mans in 2007 and 2008 and the Le Mans Series outright in 2009, we still want to achieve our ultimate goal of winning the 24 Hour race overall to bring the title back to Britain.

“In recent years, it has been impossible for petrol cars to compete on equal terms with the diesels.  However, we now have assurances from the ACO that, with the adoption of the 2011 regulations, they will properly balance the performance of these new cars.  Under these circumstances we have been prepared to develop Aston Martin’s first purpose-built racing chassis and engine for more than 50 years.

“Even with this new car, it will still be a ‘David and Goliath’ fight against the massive resources of our competitors, but we have become accustomed to this and relish the challenge.”

Dr. Ulrich Bez, CEO of Aston Martin said: “Racing is a fundamental part of Aston Martin’s heritage and Le Mans is the race that every true sports car maker aspires to win.  While every aspect of this new LMP1 car has been built purely for racing, we also remain committed to developing race-winning GT cars based on our road cars. We are the only manufacturer to offer a race car for every category from GT1 to GT4.”