Clash of the icons

An iconic British racing car feared on the track came face-to-face with a British tracked icon feared by the enemy.

With no smooth racing track in sight to use its superior speed to escape, the Le Mans Series-winning Aston Martin LMP1 admitted defeat to the most feared weapon in the British army, the Challenger II Battle Tank.

The two iconic vehicles met on Salisbury Plain when the army and Prodrive organised a joint event which raised an estimated £6k for ‘Help for Heroes’.

During the day Prodrive took the army for rides in a Subaru rally car, while the army showed the motorsport company how good the Challenger II tank is off-road.

“The Challenger II has amazing off-road capability,” said Prodrive chief engineer vehicle engineering, Steve Barwick. “But, despite having 1200 horsepower at its disposal, its 62 tonnes means its never going to win any rallies and the tracks wouldn’t give much grip on a race circuit. However, it was interesting to see how similar the challenges in designing a military vehicle are to those of a rally car, where ultimate off-road speed and stability are paramount.”