The retirement party is nearly in full swing for the V8 Vantage GTE, but ahead of the @FIAWEC #6hBahrain we treated it to a little makeover pic.twitter.com/38zrv4stvd — Aston Martin Racing (@AMR_Official) November 16, 2017

Aston Martin Racing will pay tribute to its Vantage GTE car with a special celebration livery in its final factory GTE-Pro appearance at this weekend’s Six Hours of Bahrain.

The Aston Martin Vantage GTE made its FIA World Endurance Championship debut in 2012, claiming two class victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and two further podiums in the last five years.

Besides the success at Le Mans, the Vantage GTE also took Nicki Thiim and Marco Sorensen to the WEC GT drivers’ title in 2016, as well as enjoying success in GTE-Am for a combined total of 36 race wins and four championships over the last six seasons.

The current-gen Vantage GTE will be replaced by a new Vantage-based model for 2018, making its final appearance in Bahrain this weekend the end of an era that will be celebrated with a livery depicting many of the stand-out moments from its time in the WEC.

The design will also see a special date badge adorn the side of each door, while the Vantage GTE name plate will feature on the rear wing of both the No. 95 and No. 97 car.

“For everyone at Aston Martin Racing, the actual journey with the race car has been truly a great experience,” said longtime factory driver Darren Turner.

“From the first year in 2012; where we didn’t get the car’s first win until the last race in Shanghai, to then watch it grow into one of the most successful cars in the championship both in Am and Pro.

“It has pretty much won at every venue throughout the championship and it’s been amazing. We’ve had some hard battles with it, we’ve had the highest highs and we’ve had a few lows as well.

“The evolution of that car from one season to the next as we’ve strived to remain competitive with the technical package is testament to the hard work that has gone into it by everybody back at Aston Martin Racing and everyone at Aston Martin developing and designing such an amazing and special car.

“So it will be sad to race it for the last time in the Pro category on Saturday, but everyone can look back and have fond memories and be very proud of what has been achieved with the V8 Vantage GTE.”

While Bahrain marks the end of the Vantage GTE’s life in the GTE-Pro class, it will continue to feature in the WEC for the 2018/19 ‘Super Season’ via the GTE-Am class, with as many as three entires expected.