The mid-fifties were the golden era of sports car racing, when the finest drivers competed in the fastest cars on challenging circuits and the most perilous road races, such as the Mille Miglia and RAC Tourist Trophy at Dundrod. Despite being the quickest automobiles of the day, these racing cars also made for wonderful road cars. Undoubtedly, one of the finest and most competitive cars to emerge from this era was the Aston Martin DB3S. The DB3S was the perfection of the ideas of two of the greatest engineers of the 20th century, W.O. Bentley and Professor Robert Eberan von Eberhorst of Auto Union fame. Radically developing Eberhorst’s DB3 tubular chassis, Willie Watson turned the DB3 (which by 1953 was lagging behind Jaguar’s C-Type) into a far lighter and nimbler car that was more suited to being powered by the high-compression 3.0-liter version of W.O.’s straight-six. Legendary British designer Frank Feeley penned the gorgeous lines for the bodywork, creating one of the best-looking shapes ever to grace a race circuit. Feeley’s work on the DB3S produced iconic styling that can still be seen in the Aston Martins of today.
