Group C. Aston Martin. That's really all we should
need to say – to certain enthusiasts anyway – but there's more to this vintage
racer than just that. What we have here, boys and girls, is a 1989 Aston Martin
AMR1. It's one of only four ever made, and one of just two later lightweight
examples, and it's coming up for auction.
Long before today's Vantage-based GT racers or the
Lola-based DBR1-2 (a.k.a. B09/60) – and not to be confused with the later
AMR-One – Aston Martin made a brief foray into the celebrated Group C category.
It was designed in Canada, with an engine developed by Callaway in Connecticut,
and fielded in the World Sports Prototype Championship and 24 Hours of Le Mans
by Ecurie Ecosse out of Scotland.
In order to challenge the established players from
Jaguar, Porsche, and Mercedes-Benz, Aston developed a cutting-edge prototype
with advanced ground effects – employing a massive aero tunnel, air ducts
channeled around the narrow driver's tub, and a giant rear wing. Of course the
6.0-liter V8 didn't hurt, either, kicking out a prodigious 700 horsepower, and
canted forward to make room for the aerodynamic elements.
Unfortunately the AMR1 never won a race or even
scored a podium – its highlight a fourth-place finish at the hands of Brian
Redman and David Leslie at Brands Hatch (achieved in the chassis you see here).
And though a plans were under way for a more powerful AMR2 and even an AMR3,
neither came to fruition. Ultimately Aston wouldn't race again until the launch
of the DBR9 a decade and a half later.
Chassis number 4 was bought from the factory by its
current owner, a former chairman of a regional Aston Martin club on the US East
Coast. Now it's being put up for auction at RM Sotheby's sale in Monterey next
month, alongside a selection of other racing Astons that are sure to garner
some attention from enthusiastic collectors.
