Is there a more beautiful modern-era GT racing car than the Aston Martin DBR9? It’s a debate that’s raged here at Girardo & Co. HQ, though admittedly contenders suggesting the contrary have proven few and far between. We find it remarkable how in spite of its aggressive carbon-fibre aerodynamic addenda, ground-hugging splitters and enormous rear wing, the DBR9 manages to retain the soft and sultry grace of the road-going DB9.

It's fair to say Aston’s GT1 challenger made one helluva splash when it arrived on the hotly contested GT1 scene in 2005. Prodrive was the motorsport outfit charged with converting the DB9 into an international endurance racing front-runner, the Banbury-based company using much of the expertise gleaned from building and campaigning the ultra-successful Ferrari 550 Maranello Prodrive in the process.

The basic recipe was one Prodrive didn’t need to deviate from. A road car which couldn’t have garnered more admirers if it tried, a hulking six-litre V12 brimming with ‘Power, Beauty and Soul’, and a newfangled lightweight and incredibly tough bonded aluminium chassis.

The goal was to return the Aston Martin name to the world motorsport stage for the first time in decades and, in turn, make the brand more accessible around the world. And with a six-year period career résumé including two victories in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, manufacturers’ championship titles in the Le Mans Series and FIA GT Championship, and wins in the 12 Hours of Sebring and Nürburgring 1,000km (among many others), it’s fair to say Prodrive achieved it.

Chassis number DBR9/9 is one of the first batch of 10 cars which were originally earmarked for the factory Aston Martin Racing team, as denoted by its single-digit chassis number (the nine customer DBR9s had three-digit VINs, starting from 101). It was bought new by Giuseppe Lucchini, the Italian motorsport magnate and founder of the history-steeped Scuderia Italia BMS outfit – a team which held semi-Works status  in 2006 and 2007.

Chassis DBR9/9 captured during the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2006 – the first of its two entries in the world’s most famous endurance motor race

Along with chassis DBR9/7, this Aston Martin contested eight rounds of the 2006 FIA GT Championship under the Scuderia Italia BMS banner, including the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Driven by Fabio Babini, Christian Pescatori and Matteo Malucelli, chassis DBR9/9 scored podium finishes at Silverstone, Brno and the Hungaroring. It also clinched pole position for the final round of the season in Dubai.

The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007 was the occasion at which Pirelli chose to celebrate its 100th anniversary and this DBR9 was dressed in a commemorative livery

Ahead of the 2007 FIA GT Championship, DBR9/9 returned to Prodrive to have its V12 rebuilt. The car’s competition résumé notes finishes in six rounds of the 2007 season, which was once again contested for Scuderia Italia BMS. Paired with the British former Le Mans winner Jamie Davies, Fabio Babini finished third in the fifth round at Oschersleben. The 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007 was the occasion at which Pirelli chose to celebrate its 100th anniversary.

As Scuderia Italia BMS’s title sponsor, the Italian tyre manufacturer finished this DBR9 in a commemorative livery and was given the race number 100. Babini and Davies were joined by Matteo Malucelli, the trio lapped the Circuit de la Sarthe 336 laps to finish the French endurance classic sixth in the LM GT1 class and 11th overall.

The legendary Spa 24 Hours in 2007 was chassis DBR9/9’s final competitive outing

During the 24 Hours of Spa in July, DBR9/9 retired after an accident. In light of the intense schedule of remaining races in the FIA GT season, this Aston Martin was returned to Prodrive to have its aluminium/composite tub replaced and engine fully refreshed. It’s important to note that the original tub was retained and accompanies the car today. In the end, Scuderia BMS Italia was lent another DBR9 by Aston Martin Racing and this car wound up in the personal collection of Giuseppe Lucchini, alongside his Ferrari 250 GTO and 550 Maranello Prodrive. Esteemed company indeed.

In 2008, the former Aston Martin majority shareholder Peter Livanos acquired DBR9/9, keeping it in his garage in Switzerland for almost a decade. Following an inspection carried out by Aston Martin Racing at Livanos’ in October of 2016, this Aston Martin was offered at auction in Monterey in 2018.

The winning bidder was a German collector and keen historic racing driver, who promptly entrusted the respected competition car specialist Tim Samways Sporting & Historic Car Engineers to be prepared for the 2018 Masters Endurance Legends Championship. In addition to racing at Imola and the Nürburgring, DBR9/9 made a return to the hallowed asphalt of Le Mans, where it contested the Aston Martin Racing Festival curtain-raiser for the main event.

As interest and momentum grew around modern-era endurance cars in 2018, so DBR9/9 contested two rounds of the 2019 Masters Endurance Racing Legends Championship in 2019, as well, visiting the international temples of speed Spa-Francorchamps and Paul Ricard. This Aston Martin changed hands one final time in 2020. DBR9’s new American custodian followed the previous owner’s lead, racing in select rounds of both the Peter Auto and Masters Endurance Racing Legends series.

Freshly refinished in its commemorative Pirelli livery in which the car finished the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2007 and fastidiously prepared for historic competition by Venture Engineering, DBR9/9 is now ready either to be returned to the racetrack or exhibited at any number of the concours events to which it would be welcomed with open arms.

Chassis DBR9/9 is accompanied by a small selection of spare parts, including a front splitter and two sets of wheels and tyres

For those wishing to continue this Aston Martin’s competition career, the car is accompanied by a generous spares package including sets of wheels shod with slick and wet tyres, a carbon-fibre front splitter and the updated AMR wing mirrors. It’s important to note that DBR9/9’s original chassis, which was replaced following the accident at Spa, will accompany the car.

The DBR9 was an incredibly important car for Aston Martin, reinstating the successes of yesteryear it had so desperately missed (and needed) and kickstarting factory and customer racing programmes which would go on to win races and titles in every corner of the globe. This four-time podium-finishing chassis, with its entirely traceable ownership history, played an instrumental role in the Works-supported Scuderia Italia BMS’s campaigns in 2006 and 2007, and would be a perfect car to contest the burgeoning Endurance Racing Legends series.

Venture Engineering is an historic competition-car preparation specialist in Oxfordshire, formed of many former Prodrive engineers with direct experience of working with the DBR9 in period. Over the course of the spring and summer of 2023, Venture fastidiously prepared this DBR9 for historic motorsport, including comprehensive crack testing of all components. It is now absolutely ready to take to the historic grid at an event of your choosing. 

 Ahead of the 2024 Spa Classic, at which this DBR9 will be racing, we sent Sam Hancock to Donington Park to work on the car’s setup and our video production team to capture the process

Satisfied with the completion of the project, Venture took DBR9/9 to the famous Turweston Airfield to be shaken down by the former Works Aston Martin Racing and veteran historic racing driver Sam Hancock. 

The exhaustive project involved the following works:

Chassis

• The chassis was completely stripped allowing for a visual inspection of the chassis and wiring loom
• The brake calipers were inspected and resealed
• The pedal box was inspected and serviced
• The seat and seatbelts were replaced
• Adjustable seat mounting brackets were designed and manufactured from scratch

Fuel System

• The fuel cell was recertified for another two years
• The fuel hatch gaskets were replaced
• Fuel hoses were replaced where required

Drivetrain

• Replacement of all engine and gearbox fluids
• The driveshaft was serviced and rebuilt
• The clutch was re-shimmed
• The flywheel housing was serviced
• Any damaged dog-rings were replaced
• A 22:24 drop-gear was fitted during the gearbox rebuild

Suspension

• The uprights were serviced and rebuilt
• The front dampers were replaced
• New bearings were installed where required
• All steel suspension parts were recoated

Price Upon Application