ASTON MARTIN RACING GT4 WING

The new Aston Martin Racing (AMR) Vantage GT4 has been designed and built off the backbone of the new generation Aston Martin Vantage road car for racing customers around the world. The car is targeted to continue the previous Aston Martin GT4’s success and longevity and extend AMR’s successful racing pedigree. In addition to its performance targets, the GT4 will see a build program of relatively high volumes and rate in comparison to other customer racing cars.

Using flax

The new regulations for the GT4 race cars require any additional aerodynamic surfaces to be manufactured using completely natural fibres and natural cores. This gave Prodrive Composites the opportunity to design and manufacture a structural rear wing using sustainable materials. This project aligned perfectly with Prodrive Composites’ drive to reduce the environmental impact of the composites industry. Strict deflection and weight targets comparable to carbon fibre and the need to meet aerodynamic targets meant the engineering analyses needed to be thorough. Adding to the complexity of the project were the cost and volume targets, clever material choices (weaves and laminates) and carefully perfected manufacturing processes, allowed Prodrive Composites to minimize the labour time and material costs.

"The material, supplied by SHD, has integrated seamlessly into Prodrive’s systems from kit-cutting to laminating and trimming. While the material doesn’t possess the same fibre mechanical properties, its low density can still produce lightweight efficient structures; in addition, the predictable handling (laminating and trimming) of the material allows for consistently good quality rear wings that can be efficiently manufactured." Prodrive Composites

“SHD Composites are proud to be offering a sustainable solution to the market. This particular product utilises our toughened versatile ‘VTC401’ resin system in conjunction with various natural fibres which aligns perfectly with Prodrive Composites’ vision to reduce our environmental impact within the composites industry.” Chris Henshaw - SHD Sales Manager

Please contact us at sales@shdcomposites.com for further information.