Aston Martin’s ‘DBS 59’ Superleggera Is A Thing Of Ultimate Beauty

Aston Martin has revealed a limited edition run of 24 special DBS Superleggeras, commissioned by one of its dealers to celebrate the 60th anniversary of a famous racing victory.

The DBS 59, as it has been named, was originally commissioned by Aston Martin Cambridge, the same site that ordered the 10-strong run of Vanquish S Red Arrows Edition cars a couple of years ago. The order was again handled by the ‘Q by Aston Martin’ department, which handles the myriad sweeping and dramatic or tiny and intricate personalisations that buyers apply to their cars.

The company has just finished the first of the 24 cars, each numbered to mark one of the hours during the 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans in which DBR1s finished first and second. It’s finished in Aston Martin Racing Green with complementary glossed carbonfibre for the roof and swooping pillars.

Bronze is the perfect contrast colour for the DBS 59’s details and marks a further nod to the winning DBR1’s bronze switchgear. The bonnet badging, front grille, brake calipers and 21-inch two-tone alloys all adopt a bronze theme. On the ‘aeroblade’ rear spoiler there’s bronze foil numbering that describes that DBR1’s shape, chassis number and engine number.

Each car will have individually-numbered roundels painted onto the front wings. This one may be the first to leave the factory but it’s actually number five. Above the number is a bronze and white Q by Aston Martin badge.

Q re-examined the seat material of the victorious DBR1 and recreated that fabric for trim patches on the DBS 59’s seat backs and door cards. The bronze theme continues with suitably precious-looking shift paddles. The seat backs feature a sewn-in ‘59 Edition’ logo among leather trim in Obsidian Black and Chestnut Tan. There’s more embroidery on the sun visor, describing the date of the 1959 Le Mans race and the 323 laps the winning DBR1 completed.

Glorious accessories have been produced to match the car. We’re not normally seduced by these things, but the heritage-style replica race helmet, 1959-style race suits and copies of Carroll Shelby’s race gloves have got us feeling like we’re 10 years old again.

Mechanically the DBS 59 is no different from the phenomenal Superleggera we drove last summer. It gets a 5.2-litre V12 that’s good for 715bhp, 664lb ft and 211mph. It was already among our most-wanted cars of 2018, but this ultra-desirable limited edition has surely topped it. We need a sit down.