<< Prev Page 2 of 2 In the remainder of the season, the DB3 was raced with both the original and the larger three-litre engine, but with few notable results. At Le Mans all three cars retired and it would take until mid August before the Aston scored its first major victory. Peter Collins and Pat Griffith scored that win during the Goodwood 9 hours race, benefiting from all sorts of issues that threw the much faster Jaguars and Ferraris well back. Even though the DB3's results were hardly impressive, Aston Martin managed to sell five examples to customers, including two coupes.
The larger engine still had not bridged the gap to the competition and both Wyer and Brown concluded that a lighter version of the DB3 would be the solution. This did not go down well with Von Eberhorst and he eventually left the company. His replacement, 'Willie' Watson, had already been hired and he got under way with developing the DB3 replacement, dubbed the DB3S. While the next generation racing cars was completed, Aston Martin continued to race the DB3 in the first months of 1953. A second place finish and class win at the Sebring 12 Hours more than justified persisting with the DB3.
While the DB3S was a clear improvement over the DB3, it would take until the end of the decade before David Brown clinched his much desired overall win at Le Mans. Of the sports racing cars built by Aston Martin in the 1950s, the DB3 is certainly the least successful. It does however deserve its place in the company's history as the first purpose built post-War racing car. Without a doubt the lessons learned with the DB3 have contributed to the later success of the subsequent racers. Eventually a total of ten examples were constructed, including four Works cars, five customer cars and one road car built for David Brown and reportedly used on the road by his wife. << Prev Page 2 of 2
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In the remainder of the season, the DB3 was raced with both the original and the larger three-litre engine, but with few notable results. At Le Mans all three cars retired and it would take until mid August before the Aston scored its first major victory. Peter Collins and Pat Griffith scored that win during the Goodwood 9 hours race, benefiting from all sorts of issues that threw the much faster Jaguars and Ferraris well back. Even though the DB3's results were hardly impressive, Aston Martin managed to sell five examples to customers, including two coupes.