The DBR22 is an amalgamation of two of Aston’s historical racers. Aston says that the concept’s coachbuilt design evokes the DBR1 and DB3S. The Frank Feely-designed DB3S was introduced in 1953 and while it didn’t win Le Mans, it did take first and second at the Tourist Trophy in the World Sports Car Championship. Another designer, Ted Cutting, then took Feely’s work and refined it into the DBR1. This racer proved to be more successful and Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori piloted one to a win at the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans. Aston even won the World Sports Car Championship with its DBR1. The company sees these two cars as an important part of its history, and used them for inspiration here. Here is the DBR1, for reference: And the DB3S: This new DBR22 isn’t just a tribute car, as it’s also supposed to celebrate ten years of the company’s Q division. For the past decade, Aston owners could have their vehicles customized by Q by Aston Martin. Think of Q like an old coachbuilder; Aston owners can have their vehicles customized in a practically limitless number of ways. And yes, that name is indeed a reference to 007’s quirky quartermaster. Q will do everything from custom colors to wild interior materials and designs. A fun example of this is our Q-customized Aston Cygnet. It has a white and pink floral pattern theme complete with accents.
If you have enough money, you can get Q to build an entire one-off just for you. The company has a history of building super low-volume cars for certain customers, and this DBR22 concept is slated to bring about a few more coachbuilt customs. Aston says: “It seems only fitting then, that the DBR22 design concept should also form the basis of a production reality example for an ultra-exclusive number of Q by Aston Martin customers.” It’s powered by a 5.2-liter twin-turbo V12 borrowed from the V12 Vantage. It’s good for 705 horsepower and 555 lb-ft torque delivering its punch through an eight-speed auto with paddle shifter. Aston Martin says that the DBR22 can hit 60 mph in 3.4 seconds and race on to a top speed of 198 mph. And remember, this all happens without a roof or a windshield, so it’s a full sensory experience. It’ll probably be wise to wear a helmet. Another neat feature of this car is its 3D printed rear subframe. It consists of aluminum parts that were 3D printed then bonded together. Aston says 3D printing helps it save weight while also giving it the ability to punch out parts for low volume cars like this. If you’re going to be in Monterey this week, you can see it at Pebble Beach Concours D’ Elegance. It’s on display from Friday the 19th to Sunday the 21st. If you won’t be, join me in looking at this pretty car on the internet. Oh and stiffer anti-roll bars. For nimbler swerving to dodge the Jewish space lasers. Aston Martin will only make 88 of the Speedster. So they probably will have no problem selling all of those keeping in mind they increased production of the Taraf because of demand a few years ago. This new Aston is a significant downgrade over the classics, in spite of having 70 years better technology at its disposal. Hard pass. New car is neat, but his DBR2 is the one I’d rather have. It would be nice if Aston Martin went back to its roots and made barely street-legal lightweight race cars with state-of-the-art drag reduction again. I can’t think of a single automaker that is actually producing a car along those lines. The McMurtry Spierling is probably the closest we will get. And the sound of the big Aston inline-six still makes my hair stand on end. The only V-12s to do that didn’t come from BMW. It’s very likely a wonderful driver’s car — I admit a certain fondness for windshields, mind you — that, in its strictly limited numbers, will never be driven, but if I’m going to fantasize about driving something British with Le Mans-winning heritage, I”ll take a DBR1. Or Jaguar D-Type. These windscreen-less cars just seem to be billionaire collectibles rather than cars to be driven, even more so than ‘regular’ million dollar cars.
