Aston Martin has revealed that they will take on the Le Mans 24 hour race in 2011 with an all-new car.

The open-cockpit LMP1 class car will run a new purpose-built petrol engine which Aston believe, thanks to new regulations from race organisers ACO, can match the diesels of Audi and Peugeot which have dominated in recent years.

The car will retain the iconic Gulf livery seen on the previous Lola based car which raced in 2009 and 2010, winning the 2009 Le Mans Series title.

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.”

Aston Martin’s only outright win in the 24 hour race was in 1959 with Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori at the wheel of a DBR1. Aston have also won multiple races and championships in the GT1 class with the DBR9 since Aston Martin’s return to racing in 2004.

Source: Autocar