The Aston Martin DBR2 was a
sports
Sport pertains to any form of competitive physical activity or game that aims to use, maintain, or improve physical ability and skills while providing enjoyment to participants and, in some cases, entertainment to spectators. Sports can, ...
racing car built in 1957 as a sibling to the
Aston Martin DBR1
The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin starting in 1956, intended for the World Sportscar Championship as well as non-championship sportscar races at the time. It is most famous as the victor of the 1959 24 Hours of ...
, yet competing in a larger engine capacity group.
Development
The DBR2 was created from a short lived
Lagonda
Lagonda is a British luxury car brand established in 1906, which has been owned by Aston Martin since 1947. The trade-name has not had a continuous commercial existence, being dormant several times, most recently from 1995 to 2008 and 2010 to 2 ...
project known as DP166 (DP for ''Development Project''), This was a multi tube, back bone space frame chassis designed by
Willy Watson. This was a progression from the DP115 'wide tubed ladder type' chassis which was similar to that used in the
DB3S. Both the DP115 and the DP166 chassis were originally fitted with the failed Lagonda 4.5L V12 engine. All Three of the DP166 chassis made were leaning up against the wall of the Feltham racing department awaiting their fate, that was until the chief race car designer for
Aston Martin at that time
Ted Cutting was asked by John Wyer to build two race cars from two of the three chassis. The engines to be used were the new Tadek Marek designed 6 cylinder, 3.7 litre unit. He had just completed this engine for the forthcoming DB4. Ted Cutting was allocated four of the six prototype DB4 engines made, these to be used in the DBR2 cars. This was much to the dismay of Tadek Marek. When Ted Cutting got his hands on the newly designed DB4 engines, he made some fundamental changes to the oil delivery system before the unit was fitted into the production DB4s. In 1958 a 3000 cc engine capacity limit was placed on prototype cars competing in the
World Sportscar Championship
The World Sportscar Championship was the world series run for sports car racing by the FIA from 1953 to 1992.
The championship evolved from a small collection of the most important sportscar, endurance, and road racing events in Europe and ...
, so the DBR2s at 3.700 cc could no longer compete at championship events. Sir David Brown then had the idea to send both the DBR2s to the USA and to use them as a promotional tool for his new DB4. Both DBR2s were sent to the USA with Rex Woodgate and used to good effect.
The all aluminium bodies for the DBR2 were also designed by Ted Cutting. This was a similar design to the one he later used on his Le Man winning
Aston Martin DBR1
The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin starting in 1956, intended for the World Sportscar Championship as well as non-championship sportscar races at the time. It is most famous as the victor of the 1959 24 Hours of ...
. The DBR2 was slightly larger and more aerodynamic. These cars would be christened DBR2/1 and DBR2/2.
Racing history
DBR2/1 initially began competition at the
1957 24 Hours of Le Mans, where it unfortunately retired, this was due to a poorly performing carburation system, which in effect was a single carburetor for each cylinder, this problem was resolved for the cars next outing when these were replaced with three twin side draft
Weber DCO 50s. DBR2/1 only notable success for 1957 was at the
Daily Express Trophy at
Silverstone Circuit in the hands of
Roy Salvadori
Roy Francesco Salvadori (12 May 1922 – 3 June 2012) was a British racing driver and team manager. He was born in Dovercourt, Essex, to parents of Italian descent. He graduated to Formula One by 1952 and competed regularly until 1962 for a s ...
. DBR2/1 was entered for the August 1957
Spa Grand Prix. During practice the car was performing well in the hands of
Noel Cunningham-Reid, however on his last practice lap, Noel saw what he thought to be one of his team mates up-side-down in a ditch, he was unable to stop and help due to other race car traffic, however, with this on his mind he entered the next bend too fast, he came off the track, went down an embankment when the car turned over, Noel was thrown clear landing in a pile of pine cones, looking up just at that moment to see his car smash into a tree. After an inspection of the recovered car by
John Wyer
John Wyer (11 December 1909 in Kidderminster, England – 8 April 1989 in Scottsdale, Arizona, United States), was an English automobile racing engineer and team manager. He is mainly associated with cars running in the light blue and orange ...
, he deemed the car to badly damaged to continue. Upon return to
Feltham
Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party ...
, it was found that the chassis was quite badly damaged in critical areas. With this car being booked in to race at Silverstone about three weeks later, it was decided to remove everything of use from the damaged chassis and transpose it to the spare chassis. The damaged chassis was to be disposed of, but ended up in the possession of
John Willment.
For 1958 the DBR2s were upgraded to 3.9 Litre engines. DBR2/1 won both the Sussex Trophy at
Goodwood and the British Empire Trophy at
Oulton Park
Oulton Park is a hard surfaced track used for motor racing, close to the village of Little Budworth, Cheshire, England. It is about from Winsford, from Chester city centre, from Northwich and from Warrington, with a nearby rail connection al ...
, driven by
Stirling Moss in both wins. After finishing 2nd and 3rd at
Spa, Aston Martin decided to concentrate on the DBR1 for Europe, while both DBR2s were upgraded to the 4.2 Litre engines and transferred to America where they could compete easier with larger engine capacities.
George Constantine drove DBR2/1 to victories at
Lime Rock and Marlborough before the end of the season.
Continuing in the United States in 1959, the cars again took victory in New York and twice in the Bahamas, driven by
George Constantine and
Stirling Moss. Both cars were then returned to Aston Martin in 1960.
Later life
DBR2/1 was sold to private hands following its return to Britain, changing hands twice before being stripped of its body and having the coupe bodywork from
DB3/6 placed on top of it. DBR2/2 was also sold to private owners, being sold various times over the years. Its most recent sale DBR2/1 fetched a price of £9,200,000. A restored DBR2 recently won the
Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance's People's Choice Award.
Chassis information
Included are a list of notable results for each chassis.
*Aston Martin DBR2/1 - Completed 1957
**1957 Le Mans 24 Hour- ret
**1957 B.R.D.C. Silverstone- 3rd
**1958 B.R.D.C Silverstone- 5th
**1958 Spa GP- 3rd
*Aston Martin DBR2/2 - Completed 1957
**1957 B.R.D.C. Silverstone- 1st
**1958 B.A.R.C. Aintree- 2nd
**1958 B.R.D.C. Silverstone- 4th
**1958 Spa GP- 2nd
External links
Aston Martin Picture Gallery - DBR2
{{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers
DBR2
sv:Aston Martin DBR