First VDS GT 001 R is a fact

The first VDS GT 001 R is a fact.

The secret was well kept ...Thursday October 4th, superb Autoworld Museum in Brussels, has served as the setting for the presentation of the VDS GT 001 and GT version competition VDS 001-R.
Dual realization of the dream of Raphaël van der Straten.
Team VDS Racing Adventures known by their passion and travelling around the world for many years, Raphaël decided to take the challenge.
The huge jump even ...

Raphael, where did this idea to the project VDS GT 001 came from? And you turn into a car manufacturer?

It is primarily a home coming! Three decades, my grandfather, Count Rudolf van der Straten Ponthoz, lived an incredible adventure by the Belgian national colors shine around the world.
He hired racing cars, and eventually build one named: the VDS 001 which is illustrated in the Can-Am competition at the dawn of the '80s.
This saga with these red cars striped white and blue, it has always fascinated me. In a corner of my mind, I always told myself that one day I would walk in his footsteps, just to perpetuate a certain family tradition. That day has arrived ...

How was the realization of the project?

The initial idea was to make a Vertigo with a "trick" different from (a .6). Speaking with Tony Gillet, I asked if it was possible for someone like me to make my own body.
This is where I started to draw cars, what I didn't do for years. And actually, I think my sketches suck! Tony then presented me Charles van den Bosch, to whom I gave some ideas and requirements.
Very quickly, he showed me some very unconventional projects that I partly liked. Then one day, in a series of sketches, MY car appeared.
Charles was able to reproduce on paper what was in my head.
Then Patrick Battle, who has studied the feasibility of the project, made a model 1/1. Followed by a long period of testing style, proposals and dilemmas about the details of the car (headlights, grilles, exhausts, etc..).
Patrick was able to put the project in 3 dimensions. Tony Gillet is itself the conductor, he introduced me to all the people who allowed me to realize this dream.

What were the main guidelines of the project?

I wanted a car in the neo-retro style that is aggressive, racy, and I was somewhere inspired by my passion for GT American history to highlight the continuity of the adventure VDS.
The grille should be an inverted type as the first generation Mustang. My dad, Hervé van der Straten, was the proud owner of a Ford Mustang Boss 302, with which we were on the Cote d'Azur.
A similar car was even taken by my grandfather, the 24 Hours of Spa in 1971 and Trosch Serge Martin Birrane. Once again, we find the notion of continuity.
I wanted something different, because I've never liked driving cars like everyone else. Which resulted in the choice of cars sometimes surprising in competition, including the BMW M5 and the various Ford Mustang FR500 GT3 and GT4.
This VDS GT 001 is like me. This is a project pretty personal, even selfish ... I still hope to share with as many as possible! It could get out of a comic of Michel Vaillant,
what would make me very happy. This car, I want to associate it with two "objects": Firstly, the Empire State Building for what it symbolizes.
When we saw this 'for real', it is impressive and you cannot forget. This is one of the most significant monuments of New York. For the VDS, I hope it will be the same.
The second object is the Marilyn Diptych by Andy Warhol. Each VDS is a work of art. A common base, but each car is unique ...

As you can imagine, building a car costs a lot of money. Beware, this VDS GT 001 is not a simple body placed on a chassis and mechanical Gillet Vertigo.
We used the base, with the primary mission of the fit compared to my project.
The carbon chassis has also been extended to fifteen centimeters. I would willingly install a mechanical American, a big V8 under the hood, but it has not been possible.
So we decided to take the 4.2-liter 8-cylinder Maserati of origin, which is also found under the hood of the Vertigo .5 Spirit. It develops 480 horsepower power coquette,
for a total weight of just over 1000 pounds. Drunkenness warranty ...





What are the marketing plans of the VDS 001 GT in its  road?

The idea is to build a limited edition of 22 copies, with this essential feature they are all customized!
The future will tell if I was right ... The most important thing now will be to present it to the right people.
It should be noted again that the car will be built on request, according to the customer's demands.

And what is the competition?

The ultimate project would involve the VDS 001 GT-R at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Which will take some time.
His racing career will begin at the Dunlop 24 Hours of DUBAI in January 2013, assuming it is directly homologated in Class SP2.
Then everything will be implemented so that we can compete at the wheel the 24 Hours of Spa.
The VDS 001 GT-R is in the same vein as the Ascari KZ1. I therefore hope that it will integrate a category for Supercars that are not of high standard.
Discussions are in progress ...


The rest of the story, what will happen after this presentation?

We will primarily pursue the development of the VDS 001 GT-R will take part in the 24 Hours of Dubai. Close José will put his experience to the team around me, with testing sessions scheduled at Mettet and Chambley.
At the same time, the road version of the state will scale model 1: 1 car than accomplished, and marketing will begin.

A crazy thing, this adventure, right?

On reflection, this was probably not reasonable ... but why the adventure worthwhile.
The evening of October 4th is the first milestone, and therefore a very important and highly symbolic since the launch of the project. In fact my first sketch was made already thirty months ago.
What motivates me even more for the future...

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