The Aston Martin Vantage GT8 does a good job of blending in despite the fact that few road vehicles appear to belong in a real factory racing operation.

In fact, I believe it would stay covert long enough to go past security and into a grid if painted white or gulf colors, with a few sponsors slapped on it. It continues the Vantage GT12's tradition of giving a more extreme, racing-inspired take on the classic Vantage line by taking elements from the GTE race version.

The 4.7-liter V8 engine in the GT8 generates 440 horsepower and 361 lb ft of torque, but it's the sound of the engine that immediately grabs your attention. Unfortunately, unlike the race vehicle, a new, huge bore titanium exhaust exits just above the rear diffuser, and because Aston has removed the secondary cats, it is megaphone loud.

It starts out with a rich V8 burble at low revs and develops a true harshness to its timbre as it spins through 6000 rpm and approaches the limiter at 7500 rpm. This noise fills the entire cabin and is pure racing.