THE GUVNOR’S DB3S
If a car is defined by its story then this DB3S is surely right up there with the great Aston Martins. It is a colourful story, literally, as we will see. You might expect to read that this is a tale of a rare, even esoteric Aston, a footnote in the marque’s model history under David Brown, but that would be to underplay its significance. Consider this: without the DB3S, Aston Martin’s final victory at Le Mans in 1959 with the DBR1 would not have happened. And, although most people associate Aston Martin’s racing success with the DBR1, the remarkable DB3S enjoyed a works racing career of five years and remained competitive in International sports car racing for six years, winning more trophies for David Brown than any other car that he would produce.
When it appeared in 1953 it won every race entered. The following year was rather less successful, but in 1955 the winning ways returned, with podiums in eight of 11 races and the top step in five of them. Its intended swansong year was 1956, when it had almost identical results to 1955, and in 1957 two final outings gave Salvadori and Brooks podium finishes. In private hands DB3S/6 came second at Le Mans in 1958, the third time a DB3S achieved that position there.
Unlike the relatively
