DP214 (DB4GT/0194/R)
1963 – Constructed ostensibly on a DB4GT chassis to comply with GT regs. and as can be seen, allocated with a chassis no. in the DB4GT sequence. However, actually substantially different under the skin, with a lightweight chassis and with a body based on lessons learnt from DP212. It did however retain the twin plug headed DB4GT engine size of 3.7litres, but bored slightly, as allowed by the regs. to 3750cc from the standard 3670cc and fitted with Weber 50DCO carbs (Eng.no. 370/0194GT). The engine was set further back in the chassis than the 4GT but did retain the latter’s (S432) 4- speed box.
Le Mans – Retired in the 11th hour with piston failure, when lying 3rd overall and 1st in GT class (Kimberley/Schlesser)
Guards Trophy – Brands Hatch – 6th OA, 2nd in class (Innes Ireland), then,
Fitted with engine no. 370/1288/01
Goodwood TT – 7th OA, 4th in class (Ireland)
Monza - Coppa Inter Europa – 1st OA at race average of just over 120 mph and a new GT lap record (Salvadori)
Montlhery - Coupe de Paris – 1st (Le Guezec)
Montlhery - Coupe de Salon – 5th (Le Guezec)
1964 – Sold to John Dawnay
2000kms – Daytona - Retired (Salvadori/Salmon)
500kms – Spa – Retired (Salmon)
Le Mans - Disqualified in the 18th hour for taking on oil too early whilst lying 8th
Silverstone – 2nd (Salmon)
1965 – Acquired by Tom Rose, painted (very) dark blue (at least one book records it as black but my own recollection also registers midnight blue!), and registered 5 NBP
Sprints and Hillclimbs (Rose & Pye)
1966 – Acquired by Colin Crabbe by which time the car had also acquire flared wheel arches to accommodate wider wheels (see pictures below)
BARC – Oulton Park – 1st OA (Crabbe)
28/5 – Silverstone – AMOC St John Horsfall – Monte Cristo Trophy – 2nd OA (Crabbe) to Ron Fry’s 275LM (see ‘fluffy’ picture below from my first ever motor racing roll of film taken with an Ilford Ensign ‘bellows’ with an upgraded lens)
09/05 – Silverstone – Martini International Trophy – In a big field the car circulated towards the back, thoroughly outclassed by the mid-engined revolution which was now in full swing, but did finish in this very wet race (Crabbe). Below two pictures taken at the meeting, the second includes one of the first of the new generation, a Ferrari 250LM:-
Neil Corner also won a minor race at Silverstone BDC meeting, but not yet sure of date
1967 – Belgian day of Records – 1st (Crabbe)
Silverstone – EMU Trophy (AMOC) – 1st (Corner)
1968-73 – Somewhere between these dates Nick Cussons acquired car
1973-74 – A number of outings (Sprints and races) with 3 x 1st places (Cussons)
1992 – Car reappeared after a lengthy and painstaking restoration by Mike Ottway and acquired by Simon Draper
1994 – Silverstone – Coys – 6th (Draper)
1995 – Appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed, and again at the Silverstone Coys meeting where it took pole in Part 1 of GT race and finished 2nd OA (Draper/Gary Pearson). Below, the car locks up its brakes chasing the winning Ferrari on the opening lap:-
1996 - Silverstone – Coys GT race – 2nd OA (Draper/Mark Hales)
1998 – Silverstone – Coys GT race – 13th (Draper/David Clark)
Goodwood TT Revival – 4th (Draper/Clark)
1999 – Silverstone – Coys GT race – 9th (Draper/Clark)
Goodwood Festival Speed – 1st (Gillian Goldsmith
Goodwood TT Revival – 6th (Draper/Clark)
DP214 (DB4GT/0195/R)
1963 – Constructed as with sister car above, initially with engine no. 370/1288/01.
Le Mans – Retired just after 4 hours with piston failure (McLaren/Ireland)
Brands Hatch – Guards Trophy – spun off & retired (Kimberley)
Fitted with engine no. 370/1288/02
Goodwood TT – Retired on Lap 95 with valve failure (McLaren)
Monza – Coppa Inter Europa – 3rd (Bianchi)
Montlhery – Coupe de Paris – 2nd (Dewez)
Montlhery – Coupe de Salon – 1st (Schlesser)
1964 – Sold to Brian Hetreed
Daytona 2000kms – retired - (Brian Hetreed/Chris Kerrison)
Nurburgring 1000kms – crashed in practice – Hetreed fatally injured
Remains returned to UK and scrapped but engine saved and fitted to DB4GT/0200/R
Notes
1) For 1963 Le Mans, Wyer quotes 317 Bhp @t 6000rpm
2) John Wyer records that both cars (as well as 215) were capable of winning at Le Mans that year, but their preparation left insufficient time to have forged pistons manufactured so they made do with cast pistons; it was these that failed in the race. Another missed opportunity for Aston
3) A 1963 track test of 0195R appeared in the Motor Racing Book of Track Tests by John Blunsden published circa 1966.
4) The two cars were certainly capable of winning the 1963 TT at Goodwood in the hands of Innes Ireland and Bruce Mclaren, but unfortunately they fell foul of the RAC Scrutineer. He refused to allow the cars to run with the 6.5 inch rims that they had run at Le Mans, because they had not been homologated, even though by then the production cars were fitted with them as standard. As it was, they were required to race with 5.5 inch rims (anyone who has seen pictures of the cars at this race will note how silly those rims look) which actually narrowed the track by 4 inches and ruined their handling. They had never ever run with these narrow rims in the first place, and were never to do so again. An angry Innes Ireland spent the whole race going luridly sideways in the car which he had originally put on pole. That these cars were by that time a match for the GTOs was proved later at Monza.
5) In their 17 June 1966 issue, Autosport published a letter from a young Aston enthusiast, who having attended his first race meeting, the AMOC St. John Horsfall at Silverstone, wrote to challenge the assertion that the car he had seen driven by Colin Crabbe was simply a DB4GT as the programme stated. The young writer suggested that that it might be DP215, although Autosport themselves had reported it as being 212, which it definitely wasn’t! Their July 1st issue carried a response from Brian Joscelyne, then AMOC post war car Registrar, but now one of its Vice Presidents, intending to clarify the ‘confusion’ (true!) over the Project cars but insisting that the 214 (which was in fact what Crabbe was driving – see above) was correctly described as a DB4GT with a special body. Possibly, he was stating the official line as it was too close to the recent past! Later publications however have vindicated my youthful enquiry.
6) There are two, possibly three, replica 214s based on DB4 & 4GT componentry and therefore what I choose to designate DB4GT/214R, in the absence of any other consistent labelling of them. The first, initially claiming (wrongly) to be built up from some parts of the crashed 214/0195/R, commissioned by Ken Lawrence with a body built by Shapecraft, using the surviving 214 as a template. What I am not sure yet is whether this is the car currently owned by Wolfgang Friedrichs and which has a rather splendid record in the Spa 6 hours of two overall seconds (2004 & 2006) and an overall victory (2005), or whether Friedrichs had this built to save using 212 which he also owns. Our member, Simon Hadfield may be able to tell us, as he has co-driven this car with the owner and Clark, at Spa. There is certainly another in the UK owned, I believe, by Martin Brewer, since I saw this car at Snetterton last year, and, I understand that its construction was only completed last year.