September 2019 Classic & Sports Car 109T
he mid-’50s yielded some of
the most beautiful sports-
racers ever built, super-fast
toolroom marvels in an era
when teams and privateers
still drove out to famous
races. A few entrants in
historic events continue that tradition, relishing
the run down to Goodwood or over the Alps to
the Mille Miglia as much as the competitive
thrill. The late Norman Dewis regularly drove
D-types back across France from Le Mans and
loved slowing down through towns to hear the
cheers and shouts of, “Vive les Jag-wahs!”
When Belgian Paul Frère won at Spa in 1955
for Aston Martin, the works DB3S/8 was driven
out from Feltham by a solo mechanic with no
support vehicle. After a dominant win from pole,
beating two Equipe Nationale Belge Ferrari
Monzas, the car was driven from the track to the
palace of keen Aston owner King Baudouin for
a test drive. “We went out on the Brussels-
Antwerp road,” recalled Frère. “The DB3S had
no protection for the passenger. On seeing my
king’s cheeks distended by the wind at 90mph,
I asked if he was all right. He nodded and made a
sign to go faster.” The royal later got his revenge
when he drove Frère back to the palace.
To celebrate that much-missed duality of
these glorious front-engined sports-racers, we
have united two fabulous English rivals to
discover which is the supreme all-rounder. Both
had twin-cam straight-six engines evolved from
road-car units and cost a whopping £3600-plus
when new, but they couldn’t be more different in
design approach. In an attempt to sell more cars,
both were available as road versions, the Aston as
a coupé and the Jaguar as the awesome XKSS,
the fastest British road car offered for many
years. But as original racers on the open road,
can the aviation-inspired, highly specialised
D-type match the old-school DB3S, which aces
such as Jaguar legend Mike Hawthorn rated the
best-handling sports car ever built?
In its works green colour embellished with
a distinctive yellow nose and front wing flares,
the DB3S has the aura of a WW2 fighter plane.
Stylist Frank Feeley transformed Aston Martin’s
racing look from sturdy, slab-sided machines
into a lithe, athletic profile. With its wide-intake
mouth and muscular wing line, it balances func-
tion with aesthetic flair.
For me, the charismatic DB3S is the Hawker
Hurricane to the D-type’s smoother, more
advanced Supermarine Spitfire. Distinctively
evolved features such as the offset Borrani wheel
rims, full-width windscreen and exhaust sprout-
ing from the inner wing all add to its character,
but contrast with the resolved, cleaner form
of the Jaguar. The juxtaposition of the two fuel
fillers perfectly encapsulates the outlook of the
two designs – the Aston’s huge exposed cap
centred on its beautiful tail, the D-type’s flush-
fitting solution hidden in the headrest.
The old fighter-plane aura continues in the
busy cockpit. The exposed doorhandle would
have worried Jaguar designer Malcolm Sayer –
the D-type has a simple pull-cord on the inside
- and that functional, workmanlike character
dominates the layout. The cluster of black,
white-numbered dials, random off-the-shelf
switches, exposed cloth-covered loom, upright
rear-view mirror and check-upholstered bucket
seats give the look of a ’50s special, but it did the
Few Aston Martin registrations are as famous as
62 EMU, which through its factory team years led
a dramatic life with impressive results, accidents
and various rebuilds. DB3S/6 disappointed on its
1954 debut as a coupé at Silverstone, where Roy
Salvadori was unhappy with the handling at speed.
Four weeks later at Le Mans Prince Bira crashed it
heavily on the approach to Maison Blanche, in the
same spot where another DB3S coupé had rolled.
Both accidents happened at night in the wet at
high speed, when suspect aerodynamics may
have caused the front end to go light.
Both coupés were reborn as open single-cockpit
cars, but with the old chassis numbers and their
spec improved with twin-plug heads, Girling discs
and ZF diffs. The new DB3S/6 won first time out
at Silverstone in May with Reg Parnell, followed
by second at the tragic 1955 Le Mans with Peter
Collins and Paul Frère. Collins continued to race
DB3S/6, including second at Aintree and third
with Tony Brooks in Goodwood’s Nine Hours. At
Dundrod his performance was sensational but
brief: last away after starting problems, Collins
stormed back to fourth before the engine blew.
The car was rebuilt again in 1956 after Collins
was involved in a four-car pile-up at Silverstone’s
Club Corner. Fitted with drum brakes at Collins’
request, it made its return at Rouen but teammate
Stirling Moss proved quicker in practice and took it
over to score an impressive second after chasing
winner Eugenio Castelotti’s Ferrari 860 Monza.Salvadori gave the car its final works outing with
fourth in Oulton Park’s Daily Herald Trophy (above).
At the end of 1956 Aston booked Silverstone
to test prospective drivers. Tragically, Mark Lund
lost control of DB3S/6, the subsequent roll proving
fatal. The car was badly damaged but again rebuilt,
possibly with a new frame. The famous chassis and
registration continued in a new car for privateer
Graham Whitehead – a dodge to avoid Purchase
Tax, which was more than 40% of the basic price.
The great car survives as delivered to Appendix C
spec for the start of the 1957 season, with two
doors, full-width ’screen and faired-in lights but
no headrest. Whitehead raced to the end of 1958,
teaming with half-brother Peter to take a superb
second at Le Mans in 1957, which saved Aston’s
reputation when all the new DBR1s failed.
In 1959 next owner Mike Bond took 62 EMU to
Africa, but once home it continued to win events
with the AMOC. Since the ’60s this famous DB3S
has been prized by respected collectors, with the
latest owner returning 62 EMU to Goodwood for
this year’s Members’ Meeting. This is undoubtedly
one of the all-time great Aston Martins.DB3S/6 IN DETAIL
Clockwise from main:
the workmanlike cockpit
of a racer; playing Le Mans
on Cotswolds roads;
offset Borrani wires with
three-eared spinners