2021 was a pretty momentous year for F1 fans – for the first time in 61 years, Aston Martin has a Formula One team and to celebrate this fact, a new special Vantage is sharing the Safety Car role with the Mercedes-AMG GT-R that has been doing it for many years.

But what good is a great looking, more powerful Safety Car if Aston can’t capitalise on it with a road car? Well, say hello to the Vantage F1 Edition.

The first thing you notice is the standard satin green paint – the same hue as the new F1 car – though black and white are available, we’re not sure why you’d choose them over this gorgeous colour! The F1 Edition gets the new vaned grille as standard, along with a unique aero kit shared with the Safety Car.

There’s a front splitter that turns up at the corners, along with canards to direct airflow. The side gills are more vented now and the side sills have grown outwards. The most noticeable addition has to be the rear wing though, a sizeable unit with end caps and a motorsport-derived look. It’s seriously functional too, boosting downforce by 200kg at the car’s 195mph top speed.

There are also a lovely set of 21-inch alloy wheels and the interior gets some unique trim options.

This isn’t just a styling exercise though, as the 4.0 litre twin turbo V8 gets a tweak to 528bhp and the 685Nm or torque is sustained for longer. This means 0-62mph is now dealt with in just 3.5 seconds.

Being an Aston you just know that it’s going to sound sensational too, so get your tickets now and you could be winning a proper F1 Safety Car for the road in the Weekly Dream Car Competition!