1953 Aston Martin DB3S Roadster

This Aston Martin DB3S is the second of the ten surviving Works cars, and the first of three cars prepared by John Wyer's competition department for the 1953 24 Hours of Le Mans. Unfortunately, Reg Parnell crashed DB3S/2 before Peter Collins could assume the driving duties. A month later, the car was raced at Silverstone for the British Grand Prix where Collins finished 3rd overall - helping secure an all-Aston Martin podium.

For the Goodwood 9 Hours, Parnell was partnered with Eric Thompson. For the race, Wyer fitted DB3S/2 with a shorter final drive in a strategic effort to have it play the hare, hoping to break the Works and Ecurie Ecosse C-Type Jaguars. The plan worked and DB3S/2 would go on to victory, with a full two laps ahead of the nearest C-Type in 3rd.

The final 1953 outing for DB3S/2 was the last round of the World Sportscar Championship, the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod. Parnell and Thompson were tasked with driving duties for DB3S/2, and despite a slipping clutch, they finished in 2nd behind the sister car, but still three laps ahead of any C-Type. This result secured 2nd in the unofficial drivers' title for Reg Parnell, ahead of Fangio, Moss, and Walker.

For the 1954 1000 KM of Buenos Aires, Parnell shared driving duties with Roy Salvadori in DB3S/2. Sadly, they were out at over half distance with distributor failure. Parnell and Salvadori were paired again for the 12 Hours of Sebring, but after 24 laps, the car was forced to retire due to a broken conrod. The next race was the Mille Miglia where Parnell was tasked with driving the car solo, with photographer Louis Klemantaski as his co-driver. Wyer chose to run the car on a hard compound Avon tire, hoping to avoid tire changes, however, the wet weather made the decision a poor choice. Both DB3Ss crashed and suffered significant damage.

Racing had not been kind to the DB3Ss and by the later part of the 1954 season, most were damaged. Wyer commissioned DB3S/1 and /2 to be rebuilt with new chassis and Frank Freeley-designed bodies. After the work was completed, DB3S/2 raced in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod with Peter Collins starting and Pat Griffith in his final race. Collins had the car in 4th when the differential gave out. At Aintree, Collins came in second to Masten Gregory in a 4.5-liter Ferrari 375MM, just two seconds behind the winning car. Collins was 22 seconds ahead of Parnell in DB3S/1.

After the 1954 season, Peter Collins acquired DB3S/2 with the agreement that it could be called back to Works duty when required. Collins had the car registered as UDV 609 and raced it mainly in British sports car races where he secured several overall or class podiums. His first Works outing with DB3S/2 was in 1955 at the Silverstone International Trophy, where he suffered a loose differential but still finished in 7th overall (and 3rd in Class). DB3S/2 was sent to Kristianstad for the Swedish Grand Prix round of the World Sportscar Championship, however it's Works racing career would come to a close in practice with conrod failure.

The final outing for DB3S/2 with Collins behind the wheel was at the Daily Herald Trophy race at Oulton Park. He would finish the hard-fought race in 3rd overall.

Collins later sold the DB3S/2 to Tom Kyffin who raced it throughout 1956, gaining wins at Goodwood and Silverstone, but would retire from the 1000 KM of Paris at Montlhéry (sharing with Ken Wharton). Ownership later went to John Dalton for 1957, scoring several wins in minor races before it passed into the hands of Roy Bloxam. DB3S/2 was used sparingly by Bloxam in 1958 before putting it up for sale with the Chequered Flag garage.

Next, it entered George Gale's ownership, who gave it a full windscreen, a passenger door, and a cigar lighter for more practical road use. The car remained in Gale's care for over two decades. It was then sold to Richard Forshaw of Aston Martin Service Dorset, who began restoring it to Works specifications. At the time, it was very original with its matching-numbers engine from when it was sold to Collins and an entirely original body, except for the passenger door and metal tonneau lip.

The car remained in Mr. Forshaw's care until 1992, when it was acquired by Peter Read, who raced it at the Monterey Historics and displayed it at the 1999 Louis Vuitton Concours. John McCaw acquired it in 2004, and the car was awarded 3rd in Post-War Sports Racing at the 2005 Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance. In 2015, it entered the ownership of its current caretaker. Since then it has been shown at the Goodwood Revival and other events.

During the production lifespan of the DB3S, ten were Works cars. Of those, one was scrapped and four received new bodies and chassis. After the Works cars left the factory ownership, three have been severely damaged. This leaves just two in their original form when they were first built.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2019