The Aston Martin DBR3 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, th ...
racing car
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
built in 1958 as an alternative to the
DBR1, using a different engine and front end setup. The car was very short lived and eventually converted into a DBR1.
Design
The DBR3 was built from a DBR1 chassis and body but featured two major changes. First, the
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 ...
based 2.9L Straight-6 was replaced by an engine based on that used in the newly released
Aston Martin DB4 road car. While the
DBR2 used this engine in its original 3.7L form, the DBR3 had the engine destroked to 3.0L (2990cc) in order to compete in the 3-Liter Sportscar category, just like DBR1.
The second difference between the two was that instead of the standard front suspension from DBR1, DBR3 used a new wishbone suspension that was being developed for the
DBR4 Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
car at the same time. It was believed this setup would be superior to the one used on DBR1 and DBR2.
Only one DBR3 chassis was built, known as DBR3/1.
Racing history
The DBR3's racing history was very short; it appeared at only two races, competing in only one at
Silverstone
Silverstone is a village and civil parish in Northamptonshire, England. It is about from Towcester on the former A43 main road, from the M1 motorway junction 15A and about from the M40 motorway junction 10, Northampton, Milton Keynes and B ...
, and failing to finish. The new engine was proven to be unreliable and prone to overheating in comparison to the older familiar engine in the DBR1. Thus the decision was made to cancel the DBR3 and instead concentrate on the DBR1. DBR3/1 had its engine removed and the suspension was returned to a normal configuration, with the car being redesignated as DBR1/4 and racing on in this form in 1959.
The engine from DBR3 would later be placed in a
DB4GT and raced in the
1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, although again with little success.
External links
Aston Martin Picture Gallery - DBR3
{{Aston Martin Sportscar Racers
DBR3
sv:Aston Martin DBR