c1957 Aston Martin DBR 2 'Tribute'

Description

Under David Brown's guidance, Aston Martin reached its zenith in the late 1950s both on the road with the glorious DB4 on the and race track, where the DBR sports-racers conquered the world, winning the Sports Car Championship - and the equally coveted Le Mans 24-Hours - in 1959. Successor to the DB3/S series, the DBR/1 debuted in 1956 with a 2.5-litre version of the all-alloy six-cylinder racing engine and was progressively developed over the course of four seasons to become a formidable rival for Ferrari, Maserati, Jaguar and Porsche in endurance races around the world. David Brown employed some of the finest racing drivers of the day, including Tony Brooks, Roy Salvadori, Stirling Moss and even Australia's own Jack Brabham. The fine handling DBR/1 was particularly suited to the mighty Nürburgring track in the Eifel Mountains, wining the ADAC 1000-kilometre race three years in a row. But without a doubt Aston's finest moment came at Le Mans in 1959, when Salvadori teamed up with American Carroll Shelby to win the 24-Hours and toppled the might of Ferrari by winning at Goodwood later that year. Outwardly similar, the DBR/2 was based on an earlier Lagonda racing project, re-designed to accommodate Tadek Marek's new DB4's 3.7-litre straight six. When European racing switched to 3-litre formula in 1958, the DBR/2s headed Stateside and scored wins at Lime Rock and Marlborough in the hands of George Constantine. Just five DBR/1s and two DBR/2 were built and rank as being amongst the most desirable Aston Martins ever made. Indeed, the Le Mans-winning car was recently offered for sale with an asking price in the tens of millions, making ownership of one of these glorious sports racing cars beyond the reach of most today.