The history of Aston Martin at the 24 Hours of Le Mans is rich in legendary models, human stories and ingenious machines entered over several decades. While it was Bentley that was the first English manufacturer to tackle the legendary event in 1923, Aston Martin followed close behind in 1928! The DB1s, DB2s, DB3Ss and then the DBR1s all made a great impression at the time, in keeping with the purest “Grand Touring” spirit. In the 70s with its V8, Aston Martin dared to enter cars in the GTP category, then in Group C with Nimrods until the culmination in 1989 with the AMR1. In the mid-2000s, the decision was made to target the GT1 category. It was through Davis Richards' Prodrive firm that the adventure began, "approved" by headquarters. It was the DB9 that was used as the basis. It allowed Aston Martin to get back to its winning ways at Le Mans: the DBR9 won its category in 2007 and 2008, in a fitting hommage to the venerable1959 DBR1 which its name is directly derived from. The DBR9 09 being offered for sale today has a rich racing history, having competed in the FIA ​​GT and twice in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

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Aston Martin's return to the peak of endurance racing

Bentley went into sport-prototype racing in 2001, with a 3-year programme that culminated in a victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. This winning return also inspired Aston Martin. The English manufacturer started thinking about how to set up their own programme. And above all, how to make it viable and sustainable, and make it a showcase for new models. They really used all their brainpower.

Turning the DB9 into a racing car and transforming it into a DBR9 was not originally a decision made by the English manufacturer. It was actually David Richards, the head of Prodrive, who approached the group's decision-makers to submit the idea to them. But Ulrich Bez, then CEO of Aston Martin, failed to get the necessary funding from the owner, Ford. With all the self-confidence that David Richards had accumulated thanks to his success with several Ferrari 550 Maranellos in 2002 and 2003 (sponsored by Frederic Dor), he told himself that if Ford wasn’t prepared to commit to the project, he should carry it  out on his own and take risks. Since he had received no support from Ferrari but had proven himself capable of building a world-class GT, he proposed the same operating mode. He obtained the right to use the Aston Martin name and the DB9 base, while  promising Ford that it would not cost them a penny…

The result was the creation of Aston Martin Racing, a joint venture between Aston Martin and Prodrive.

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From the DB9 to the DBR9

Ian Ludgate, who was in charge of the style and design department in the young Aston Martin Racing firm, was interested in the DB9 and the possibility of turning it into a racing car. Ever since 2002, when he was already working for Aston Martin, he had dreamed of using the DB9 as a basis.

This is what the team manager, George Howard Chappell, said of the genesis of the DBR9. “As with rallying and touring cars, you tend to look at the production car with a view to the parts you have to carry over and what it offers you as a donor car. What you get with the Aston Martin is a very nice V12 normally aspirated engine and a very stiff, relatively light, aluminium chassis. You get double wishbone suspension and a shape that has some aerodynamic potential, although clearly it does not have the same aerodynamic potential as some other cars in its class”.

At Prodrive, they fully understood that the DB9 had many points in common with the 550 Maranello they had developed previously. But that there were also major differences, especially the chassis. So Prodrive focused on the experience they had acquired to make the DBR9 an "heir" to the 550, but refined, improved and enhanced.

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The DBR9, more than just a “green Ferrari”

In all, about twenty parts were common to both the English and the Italian cars. The gearbox, for example, was virtually the same (six-speed X-Trac) but optimized in some aspects to be lighter and have a longer life.

Aston Martin also used the DB9's double wishbone suspension system - another point in common with the Ferrari. All the experience gleaned with the Italian car was used here to exploit this system.

Other parts and certain concepts that had been envisaged for the Ferrari but which could not in the end be developed were implemented here. Because we mustn’t forget that the Ferrari programme was managed completely independently, with no works resources. With the Aston Martin project, the Prodrive teams had greater latitude, and above all they took the necessary time to produce a fully finished car for its launch day. For comparison, the development of the Ferrari 550 took only 16 weeks, whereas developing the Aston Martin took nine months.

It’s interesting to note that the development teams did not just take the 550 Maranello as a model. In order to enable private teams of different levels to be able to enter the DBR9 for racing, the decision was made to simplify certain aspects of the car and above all to make its use and maintenance simple. Clearly, it was necessary to minimize the human and technical resources required, so as to make the car “accessible” even to less experienced teams. In this sense, it was the Porsche 996 GT3 R (the obvious choice at the time for many private teams) that served as a reference.

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The DBR9, the culmination of the GT1 saga

It was in Banbury that the cars were produced. The initial plan was to produce 12 official cars and 20 customer cars for a total of 32, like the total production of the DB3S. But the rise of the GT3 category reduced interest in GT1s. In the end, 17 cars were assembled, with 10 works cars, six customer cars and a show car.

The 6.0-litre V12 engine was used again, but repositioned lower and further back, as Prodrive had wanted to do with the 550 Maranello without ever being able to, for lack of resources. The carbon brakes were carried over from the DB9 (13-inch Brembo ventilated carbon/ceramic discs and six-piston calipers), as were the suspensions (composed of double wishbones and coil springs, stiffened and lowered), as we mentioned earlier.

Weighing in at 1100 kg and with approximately 600 horsepower, the DBR9 had a weight/power ratio that was twice as advantageous as the DB9 roadster which served as its basis (575 hp for 1100 kg, compared with 455 hp and 1710 kg). This just shows all the work carried out by the engineers.

The DBR9 won on its first outing at the 12 Hours of Sebring in 2005. All the cars entered in competition won a total of 28 international races, including two victories at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and a total of 48 podiums in 199 starts. The DBR9 launched the modern history of Aston Martin GTs. And in fact we can see in it a kinship with the Vantage, which has existed in both V8 and V12 versions!

Beware, though, not to build a bridge between the two cars, because the DBR9 and the Vantage each have their own characters. Compared to more modern Vantages, the DBR9 is an “old school” GT. This is reflected, for example, in its huge lever for the sequential gearbox, placed next to the transmission tunnel. This is a major difference with the V8 Vantage GTEs, which naturally have steering wheel paddles. The DBR9 also has a three-level traction-control system, which is less sophisticated than in a Vantage GTE.

But the DBR9 laid the foundations for later English creations. We can’t speak too highly, for example, of its remarkable mechanical and aerodynamic grip, thanks in particular to an oversized rear spoiler and a very pronounced diffuser. All of this helped to generate over 3G of lateral load in fast corners.

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The DBR9 chassis 09

DBR9 chassis numbers range from 01 to 10 for the works cars and from 101 to 108 for the cars sold to private teams. The 09 is the last-but-one works car to be built. After that, all production was on cars for private customers.

Chassis 09 is thus one of the 10 works cars produced by Prodrive. Entered for racing by ASTON MARTIN RACING BMS, it took part in 13 FIA GT Championship races and two editions of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. It totaled four podiums in FIA GT, which enabled ASTON MARTIN RACING BMS to climb up to 2nd place in the 2006GT1 Championship.

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07/05/06 - RAC Tourist Trophy – 23 - Babini/Gollin – 3rd  
28/05/06 - Brno 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Gollin – 3rd 
17-18/06/06 - 24 Hours of Le Mans – 69 - Babini/Gollin/Pescatori – retired
03/09/06 - Dijon 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Gollin – 6th  
17/09/06 - Mugello 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Pescatori – 5th
01/10/06 - Budapest 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Malucelli – 3rd
15/10/06 - Adria 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Pescatori – 4th
18/11/06 - Dubai 500 KM – 23 - Babini/Malucelli – 4th
25/03/07 - Zhuhai 2 Hours – 23 - Babini/Davies – 4th 
06/05/07 - RAC Tourist Trophy – 23 - Babini/Davies – 7th
20/05/07 - Bucharest 2 Hours – 23 - Babini/Davies – 9th
16-17/06/07 - 24 Hours of Le Mans – 100 - Babini/Davies/Malucelli – 11th (6th in GT1)
24/06/07 - Monza 2 Hours – 23 - Babini/Davies – 6th
08/07/07 - Oschersleben 2 Hours – 23 - Babini/Davies – 3rd
29/07/07 – 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps – 23 - Babini/Davies/Alessi/Monfardini – retired

 

The car’s accident at the 24 Hours of Spa in 2007 marked the end of its career as a works car and meant that the chassis had to be replaced. ASTON MARTIN RACING BMS sourced a new chassis from Prodrive which was given the original chassis number. The damaged original chassis was preserved and is included in the batch of parts being sold with the car. After a complete overhaul, this rare works DBR9 remained in its owner's collection from 2008 to 2017. In 2017, it was acquired at auction by Dominik Roschmann who regularly entered it in historic races in Masters Endurance Legends and Endurance Racing Legends by Peter Auto. Driving the car himself, he distinguished himself by winning several podiums. The car was then acquired in 2021 by its current owner who entrusted it to the talented English preparer Scott Sport and entered it in the Master Endurance Legends. This rare works DBR9 comes with all its certificates up to date and is ready to race. The current sale offers its next owner the opportunity to acquire a car with very high potential both in terms of performance in historic races and as a collector’s item, given its track record and its rarity.