The 40th anniversary of Aston Martin’s epic victory at the Le Mans 24 Hour race in 1959 was celebrated by the introduction of a final limited edition of the flagship Vantage model, aptly named ‘Vantage Le Mans’ and of course limited to just 40 cars as a nod to their historic victory
The Vantage Le Mans was based on the twin supercharged V550 platform which had been in production since 1993 and saw power raised from 550bhp to 600bhp (V600) uprated bespoke brake system by AP Racing, five spoke Dymag alloy wheels, revised front end styling with enormous bonnet vents and ‘nostrils’ in the grille mated to a revised front splitter, all of which were required to aid cooling of the immensely powerful uprated engine
In addition the wing vents were redesigned in the style of DBR1, alloy fuel filler caps as per DBR1 were added, the rear diffuser was redesigned to aid aerodynamics and house the big bore exhaust and the six speed ZF gearbox was modified to five speed which suited the uprated specification and gave longer gear ratios
Internally the dashboard was restyled with a huge rev counter that dominated the instrument binnacle, titanium finished dashboard, turned alloy gear stick, drilled alloy pedals and a multitude of bespoke options were available for its sumptuous leather and Alcantara interior, nicely finished off with a map of France in the cubby box of every car so the new owners could navigate the car back to its spiritual home of Le Mans
Our car is the first of the forty cars and was constructed at least six months before the production of the further 39 cars had started, utilised as the factory development car, launch car, Geneva Motorshow and publicity car for Aston Martin. Internal notes on file dated 18th January 1999 denote chassis 70229 (Proto LM Vantage) and an internal invoice to ‘Sales department Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd’ states the following:
Carry out V600 LM Vantage Conversion
V600 Engine
Super Sports Exhaust
5 Speed short shift
Traction Control
During a very recent conversation we had with Keith Riddington, AML Service manager at the time who confirmed the engineers worked flat out for six months to get the car ready in time for the launch at 24hr Le Mans Race in June and an official press release from AML for the Birmingham Motor Show on 17th October 1999 states; ‘In conjunction with the Aston Martin Owners Club the first V8 Vantage Le Mans driven by the winners of the 1959 race Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori led a parade of 200 Aston Martin around the Le Mans circuit just before the start of the race’
Riddington told us Shelby and Salvadori in fact drove the Le Mans winning DBR1 just ahead of this Vantage, Riddington himself driving our LM, but nonetheless a tirade of PR surrounded the two racers and the newly announced Le Mans Vantage. The event marked a very special moment in Aston Martin history and during the opening procession the LM reached a solid 175 MPH down the Mulsanne, shortly after Riddington was reprimanded by AM Chairman Bob Dover for risking the sole Le Mans before its Geneva Motorshow debut!!
Chassis 70229 was finished in Almond Green coachwork with a beautifully contrasting Tan and Green interior, exquisitely finished with half leather/half Alcantara hand stitched to the highest standard and fitted with every available LM option as this car would be the only show car built to showcase the model and aid the sale of the forthcoming 39 chassis’
Following the Geneva Motorshow the car returned to the UK, the service booklet denotes the first owner as ‘Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd’ before being sold to its first private owner following its factory duties, Mr David Kent, on 20th April 2000 via main agents JCT 600, with mileage approximately 5500 miles
The full service history is outlined at the bottom but another internal invoice on file to ‘AML Ltd’ dated 13th December 1999 states; ‘Carry out 6000 mile service, prepare for resale’ with mileage at 05418 miles
The highly desirable registration ’57 A’ was assigned to the car by Mr Kent shortly after his acquisition and the LM would remain exclusively maintained by JCT 600 throughout his tenure before it was sold via JCT to third owner, Mr Peter McDougall, on the 2nd November 2003, with mileage at 08252 miles
The LM would continue to be used regularly throughout Mr McDougall’s ownership and he clearly enjoyed the car, the mileage reading 20,140 miles at his final service with Aston Martin Works on 21st May 2014, just one month prior to the current owners acquisition
The extensive records retained on file show the Le Mans was religiously serviced by Aston Martin Works Service every year throughout McDougall’s tenure without regard to cost (2003-2014)
Acquired by the current owner on June 5th 2014, himself a noted and highly discerning Aston Martin collector, the Le Mans joined an eye watering stable of significant Aston Martin’s including a pair of original DB4GT models and was used many times over the past decade to enjoy road trips with friends to Le Mans and back in an Aston convoy
During the vendors ownership the LM has lived in professional temperature-controlled storage and has regularly benefitted from Swissvax paint maintenance. Lovingly maintained by marque exponents R.S.Williams, the Le Mans benefitted from extensive service work on 27th May 2022 just before its last trip to Le Mans with mileage showing 23,162
During the aforementioned work the LM was fitted with four new Pirelli P Zero tires, major service with all fluids renewed, removal of superchargers, new supercharger vacuum pipes, new water pump assembly, new hoses, new intercoolers and other jobs at a cost of GBP 21,167.78. The LM has just been serviced again by RSW in September 2024 and fitted with new plugs and coil packs
Offered for the first time publicly since its launch at the Geneva show, this particular car is arguably the most significant example of all the V550 Vantage platform cars and could easily be argued that it is one of the most significant British road-going sports cars of the 1990/2000s
Having been the factory development car and fitted with every conceivable option available combined with its role as the sole factory prototype/launch car at both Le Mans 24 Hours and Geneva Motorshow, the sole factory press car that features in all of the V600 LM/DBR1 press images and official sales brochure sporting both ‘AML 1’ and ‘AMV8’ number plates, the provenance of this Le Mans Vantage can only be described as truly exceptional
Supplied with extensive documentation outlining its regular maintenance, original handbook/ service book and two sets of keys and desirable registration ’57 A’, this truly unique Aston Martin has covered just 24,000 miles from new and is freshly serviced and ready from immediate enjoyment
Service History
8th February 1999 – Aston Martin Works – 019 miles
15th April 1999 – Aston Martin Works – 1621 miles
6th December 1999 – Aston Martin Works – 5418 miles
18th May 2000– JCT600 – 5824 miles
15th December 2000– JCT600 – 6640 miles
19th May 2001– JCT600 – 6922 miles
19th September 2001 – 7473 miles
15th April 2002– JCT600 – 7704 miles
18th January 2003 – JCT600 – 8027 miles
12th November 2003 – JCT600 – 8252 miles
10th June 2004 – Aston Martin Works – 9620 miles
6th April 2005 – Aston Martin Works – 10,810 miles
7th April 2006 – Aston Martin Works – 12,182 miles
1st May 2007 – Aston Martin Works – 14,081 miles
10th April 2008 – Aston Martin Works – 15,326 miles
22nd May 2009 – Aston Martin Works – 15,923 miles
6th May 2011– Aston Martin Works – 17,563 miles
27th April 2012– Aston Martin Works – 18,335 miles
