Aston Martin DBR1: The $22.5 Million Icon Reborn for £90,000
Few things are more alluring than a real DBR1 but, as Simon de Burton shows, there’s another option for ownership of a classic
ASM’s Le Mans version is faithfully modelled on the lines of an original DBR1.
What price history, originality and rarity? In the case of Aston Martin DBR1 chassis number one, around $22.5m (£17.9m) – the sum paid at RM Sotheby’s Monterey auction in 2017. It was number one of just five DBR1s ever built, which typifies the type of provenance that elevates a car from being a highly desirable classic worth tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds, into an asset worth millions and attainable only to the very few.
Knock-on wire wheels are part of the replica’s accurate detailing
But values are undergoing adjustments: insurance companies are imposing strict rules and high premiums on the rarest cars. With the danger of an accident leading to a loss of originality, and the care such a car as a genuine DBR1 requires, it’s unlikely you will see one being used regularly (if at all) on track or road any time soon. With this in mind, one can ask, what’s the point in buying one when you can’t use it?
“You get a car that’s possibly a good deal better than a real DBR1”
What’s the point in tying up millions in a car just for it to be a privately-owned museum piece, even if it is a milestone in motorsport history? Fine if you can do it and have the space and funds to form a truly world-class collection. But it also strikes as a bit of a waste.
It’s a question that seems all the more relevant with today’s increasingly excellent ‘recreations,’ many of which combine superb accuracy with a finish, dependability and improved driving experience only achievable through modern engineering.
So, how does a superb, brand-new, £90,000 replica of a DBR1 sound?
Such a car could be in your garage within a year thanks to the skills of Andrew Soar and his team at AS Motorsport, which builds its ASM R1 Le Mans evocations from scratch in a dedicated building on Soar’s family farm in Norfolk. Aluminium or GRP bodies can be specified, the former can raise prices towards £200,000, and are fitted to a unique spaceframe chassis, designed and assembled in-house.
A real DBR1 could be a double-edged sword for a collector, adding to the appeal of the ASM R1
Adjustable, rose-jointed suspension and disc brakes ensure handling and stopping reach modern safety standards while emulating much of the feel of the original DBR1. Power comes from either a Jaguar XK engine or, for the purists, a genuine Aston Martin unit. In either case, the motors are rebuilt from the ground up and can be tuned to each buyer’s specifications. Add in a choice of gearboxes, a superb, period-style interior and 16-inch wheels, and you’re left with a car that’s possibly a good deal better than an original DBR1, and which can be reliably driven on the road. Values appear holding steady too, with anywhere between £90-£130,000 the going rate for a used one.
