Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez will race this new Rapide racer at the Nürburgring 24-hour race in May. He's a 'gentleman racer' too, see.

Last year the maker entered a V12 Vantage, which won in its class. A V12 will compete again this year, though racing a Rapide with Dr. Bez in the driver's seat is a nice publicity stunt for the maker's first family car.

The racer is apparently very close to the production car, with only a few weight-saving measures, a re-adjusted suspension setup and racing slick tyres separating it from showroom cars. Well, apart from the blue livery.

Aston's chief said: "The Rapide has the capability to carry four people in comfort but first and foremost it is a sports car and we will subject it to the same tests we would our other sports cars.

"We already have a proven track record at the Nürburgring racing our road cars with limited modification and in recent years we have enjoyed success in winning the SP8 class both in 2008 and 2009."

First deliveries of the Rapide are due to begin this month (April), so Aston can't really claim it's going through 'final testing', though it does describe the race as 'the ultimate final engineering durability test for any sports car.'

The race takes place over 15/16th May. The Cygnet isn't competing for some unknown reason.