Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team principal/co-driver Greg Pickett. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America.

The Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing team had more than just a new car on its hands when they switched over from the Porsche RS Spyder to a Lola Aston Martin coupe for the 2011 American Le Mans Series season. They had to make sure the livery of the car fit the design of the car.

Team principal and co-driver Greg Pickett utilized the sleek curves and lines of the coupe to his and the team’s advantage.

“We just basically adapted what we had, taking it off the old Spyder,” Pickett said. “We played around a bit with it. But we wanted to keep it as close as possible because we got a lot of good feedback on that end.”

The result is a car, which previously appeared in a Gulf light blue and orange color scheme for Aston Martin Racing that now has black and white perfectly integrated on the chassis.

The No. 06 Muscle Milk Aston Martin Racing Lola B08/62 Coupe during Winter Test. Photo credit: Rick Dole for Michelin North America

A V12 engine with a piercing scream doesn’t hurt, either. It was one of the first things that attracted Pickett to the car.

“How about that sound!” he said with a smile.

It’s hard to wipe the grin off, because for the first time since a devastating accident in practice at Mid-Ohio last year, the 64-year-old Pickett is back in the cockpit. At that race, the car went off course at the end of the fastest straightaway and somersaulted onto a tire barrier. Fortunately, Pickett avoided serious injury.

“I had to come back,” he said. “I didn’t want my career to end upside down against the tire barrier at Mid-Ohio.”

Pickett co-drives with German aces Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr in the No. 06 this week. The team looks for a repeat at Sebring after capturing its first prototype win in ALMS competition in the P2 class at last year’s event.