Aston Martin DBR9
The Aston Martin DBR9 has been in production since 2005, and it is manufactured by Aston Martin’s racing division and currently has already built multiple DBR9s. This GT1 racing class car got its name “DBR9” from the first winning car the “DBR1” in the line that claimed the 1959 “24 Hours of Le Mans” race and the “World Sportscar” title. The cars were named after the “DBR1’s” then-owner David Br
own. The body is crafted in the traditional 2 door coupe style, and is foundationally based on the Aston Martin DB9 road car.
The DBR9 preserves some characteristics from DB9 for example the cylinder block, the chassis, and the heads of the V12 engine, which results in everything else on the car being completely re-engineered for an elevated performance under competition situations. The structure constitutes race developed DB9 aluminum under-frame, aluminum roof, all other body panels are made from a carbon fibre composite, and a high strength steel roll cage. The dimensions of the DBR9 are a length of 4767mm; a width of 1978mm; a height of 1195mm; a wheelbase of 2741mm; and a weight of 1100kg.
The suspension consists of a double wishbone at the front and at the rear, with adjustable Koni dampers outfitted with Eibach springs. The braking system is made up both front and rear Brembo six pot calipers with 330mm diameter carbon discs, all working around the OZ forged magnesium wheels. The configuration of the DBR9 encompasses a rear wheel drive, mid front mounted engine, and a mid rear mounted transmission. The transmission itself is Xtrac, which is made up of six speed sequential that is longitudinally positioned at the rear axle, and utilized by a four plated carbon clutch. The engine of the Aston Martin DBR9 is a 48 valve Aston Martin Racing 6.0 litre V12 made up of all alloy and quad overhead camshaft, also consists of dry sump lubrication system, and 2 x 31.2mm air restrictors. The V12 max power hits at approximately 600 bhp with a torque of over 700 N m. The ECU/Data system is made up Pi Data system with a Pectel engine ECU.
The DBR9’s bodywork is a total mix up of optimum aerodynamic performance, and the basics of a typical road car, which helps the movement of the car on the track. And to add to the areodynamicness of the body again, the entire bottom of the DBR9 is flat, from the rear diffuser to the front, and a carbon wing is added to the backend to accelerate the rear down-force, resulting in the car going from 0-60mph in 3.4 seconds.
With the changes in regulations for drivers while racing, Prodrive made modifications of the original DBR9 design for the 2007 24 Hours of Le Mans competition, in order to make the driver more comfortable, thus performing better. The changes that had to occur were the installation of air conditioning in the cockpit, in order to prevent drivers from over stressing themselves. Prodrive also added in a heat resistant white roof inside to assist in keeping the temperatures down, whereas performance modifications includes the extraction from the hood of the two vents responsible for cooling because they were no longer needed.
The Aston Martin DBR9 has a rich racing history for being on the track for just three short years, and it will continue to grow with every year, and with every modification. Aston Martin introduced in 2007 the limited edition DBS road car, which in turn has a lot of design cues that was taken from the DBR9 in honour of the film Casino Royale. Aston Martin has a lot inspiration for DBR9, and it will persist on the racetrack as a true racing car.