McLaren has its MSO bespoke division, Aston Martin has the Q division, who recently introduced a customised DBS. Built to celebrate one of the most illustrious moments in Aston Martin’s motorsport history, ‘DBS 59’ is a limited run of 24 special edition DBS Superleggeras, the first of which has just been built at the company’s global manufacturing headquarters, Gaydon.
Commissioned by Aston Martin Cambridge, the project honours Aston Martin’s historic 1-2 finish in the DBR1 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. Each car represents one hour of this iconic victory in Aston Martin’s history, in which Roy Salvadori and Caroll Shelby took the chequered flag ahead of the sister car piloted by Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frére.
‘DBS 59’ honours the DBR1 through specially engineered styling cues, showcasing the expertise of ‘Q by Aston Martin’. Following a careful study of the DBR1’s own paint exterior, Aston Martin Racing Green was the outwear chosen for ‘DBS 59’. Gloss finish carbon fibre on the roof panel and strakes add a striking juxtaposition against the lustrous green.
Bronze details such as the ‘Superleggera’ bonnet badging, bespoke front grille, brake callipers and 21” forged Y spoke satin duotone wheels nod to the bronze switches and dials on the Le Mans winner. Further exterior details, such as the individually numbered roundel painted on the fender, and the bespoke tyre wall arrow decal, breathe the spirit of racing into the already impressive performance of the DBS Superleggera.
For the design of the interior space, ‘Q by Aston Martin’ analysed the original seat material used on the DBR1 and recreated that same weave with each seat back and door insert trimmed in heritage style material. Bronze details continue in the hand-crafted interior space with unique bronze shift paddles and a bespoke ‘59 Edition’ logo embroidered on the seatback.
The ‘DBS 59’ follows on from the success of other ‘Q by Aston Martin’ commissions including the Red Arrows Edition Vanquish S, the Cygnet V8 and the North Coast 500 series of six DB11 GTs.
