What's behind Alonso's test in an Aston Martin DTM car?

The Vantage DTM, one of the five chassis ever built by R-Motorsport with a license from Aston Martin, was bought for an undisclosed amount by Alonso from engine builder HWA.

At Alonso’s request, a passenger seat was installed by HWA before the car was sold to him. This was a standard conversion process, with the size of the fuel tank reduced in order to enable taxi rides.

“Fernando knew that the cars were for sale and contacted us,” Martin Marx, managing director at HWA, told Motorsport.com’s sister title Motorsport-Total.com.

The Vantage DTM was officially handed over to Alonso during a large fan event organised by his sponsor at the Jarama circuit near Madrid in September, which was attended by over 2,000 people.

Daniel Juncadella, who was part of R-Motorsport’s 2019 DTM campaign, was also present at the occasion and provided Alonso with some inside knowledge of the car.

Photo by: Finetwork

Fernando Alonso testing the Aston Martin Vantage AMR Class One

Alonso later took the Vantage to Aragon for a proper test last month, just weeks after guiding Aston Martin to fifth place in the 2023 F1 constructors' standings.

A number of family members and friends were invited to attend the event and join him as a passenger as he completed several laps of the 5.3km circuit.

Among those present was six-time MotoGP champion and fellow Spaniard Marc Marquez, who took the wheel of the Vantage from Alonso to get some more experience in prototype cars under his belt.

Juncadella also joined Alonso for the test and revealed that the 42-year-old enjoyed his first proper experience of driving the 650bhp Vantage.

"He said that he was impressed by the car," Juncadella told Motorsport-Total.com. "The performance was better than expected for him.

"Fernando is used to a lot of power and good braking. But he said that the car is pretty direct. He was expecting to have to turn the steering wheel more.

"It's a bit different today with the GT3 cars, but the prototypes were high-performance vehicles. Fernando likes any form of racing - he would drive anything if there was competition and a challenge."

Juncadella feels the fact that the Vantage DTM could be easily modified played a role in Alonso’s decision to buy the car.

"There is the Formula 1 two-seater, but if you look at all the cars around the world that can be used as taxis, the Class 1 car from the DTM is the best you can get so that the passenger can really feel what happens in a real racing car," he said.

While the Vantage DTM competed only one season in the category - and without any results to write home about - it is understood that racing history was not of much importance to Alonso.

The fact that Alonso was interested in buying a DTM car from the series’ much-loved Class One days could have something to do with the conversation he had with then-boss Gerhard Bergard about a guest outing.

Moreover, Aston Martin’s F1 team principal Mike Krack previously worked on BMW’s own M4 Class One car during his stint at the Bavarian manufacturer.

A total of five Vantage DTM cars were built by R-Motorsport, four for competition and an additional one for testing. Alonso purchased what was originally used as a test car by R-Motorsport/Aston Martin, rather than the chassis raced by his compatriot Juncadella.

Three of the five chassis have now been sold, while the remaining two are still waiting for a new owner.

“After the sale to Fernando, who drives this car and obviously enjoys it, interest in the two vehicles that are still available has increased significantly,” said HWA board member Gordian von Schoning.

“For us too, it is the ideal scenario if the car is in good hands and continues to be driven.”

The Vantage DTM isn't the only new machine that Alonso purchased towards the end of last year. The Spaniard also got his hands on a new cross kart built by LifeLive, a company founded by brother of WRC star Thierry Neuville, Yannick.