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Independent (and deep-pocketed) rally racing teams have a new machine available to them thanks to the people at Aston Martin and Prodrive. The Aston Martin Rally GT is being touted as the world's most exclusive rally car, and why not? It's not as if rally-prepped Vantages are a common sight.

Developed by Aston Martin Racing, the partnership between the famed British marque and the motorsports gurus at Prodrive, the Rally GT is derived from the production V8 Vantage. It uses the road car's chassis and transmission as well as a retuned version of the Vantage's 4.3-liter V8. Prodrive adds a rollcage of its own design to the structure and replaces the shocks and springs with equipment more suited to the demands of rallying. Teams can also elect to have the stock gearbox replaced by one designed specifically for the Rally GT.

The Rally GT's development process included real racing, as you'd expect. It placed second in its class (17th overall) at the 2006 Lyon-Charbonnières Rally, with Subaru World Rally Team co-drivers Stéphane Sarrazin and Stéphane Prévot behind the wheel ( the pair are SWRT's asphalt specialists). Sarrazin is also one of the co-drivers of the #009 Aston Martin DBR9 familiar to anyone who follows Le Mans and the American Le Mans Series.

(Photos, press release, tech specs after the jump)

[Source: Prodrive]