The Aston Martin DBR1 was a sports racing car built by Aston Martin since 1956, intended for the World Automobile Championship and also for racing other sports. He is the most famous winner of the 1959 Le Mans 24 Hours, Aston Martin's only definitive victory in the endurance classic.
It is one of only three cars in the 1950s to win the World Sports Car Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in the same year (the others are the Ferrari 375 Plus in 1954 and the Ferrari 250TR in 1958). In addition, the six victories in the World Sports Car Championship were a record for any car in the 1950s and remained a championship record until they were surpassed by the Ferrari 250TR. The three consecutive victories in 1959 at the Nürburgring, Le Mans and the Tourist Trophy equaled the record set by the Ferrari 250TR with their three consecutive victories at the start of the 1958 season.
In August 2017, the DBR1 / 1 car was sold at a world record price for a $ 22,555,000 British-made car
After changes to the rules for sports car racing, participants no longer needed to use cars that were legal for the road or based on legal cars for the road, such as the Aston Martin DB3S. Therefore, with the ability to create a sports car from a clean slate for 1956, Aston Martin created the DBR1, with Ted Cutting as its chief designer.
The body evolved from the shape of the DB3S, presenting a much lower profile. Most notably, the rear of the front wheel well was no longer open. Instead, the DBR1 featured a full body with a large triangular opening on the side, a design feature that would become standard on all future Aston Martins.
The DBR1 was initially equipped with a new 2.5-liter (2493 cc) smaller light alloy racing engine (RB6.250), very little derived from the racing version of the Lagonda Straight-6 engine to comply with the 24-hour regulations that year at Le Mans. the RB6,300 Straight-6 (2992 cc), rated at 250 hp (186 kW), was developed for the 1957 season.
