The DB3S was developed following the failure of the Aston Martin DB3, a heavy and uncompetitive design by Eberan Eberhorst. William Watson, Eberhorst's assistant, presented an alternative design to John Wyer, Aston Martin's competitions manager, as Eberhorst could oppose being up-staged.
In total, 31 cars were made: 11 works cars and 20 cars sold for customer use. The works cars had chassis numbers from DB3S/1 to DB3S/11. The customer cars had three-digit chassis numbers, from DB3S/101 to DB3S/120. In 1994, a recreation car was assembled from original spare parts at Aston Service Dorset, carrying the continuation chassis number DB3S/121.
The DB3S debuted in 1953 and proved significantly more successful than the Aston Martin DB3. Although the DB3S failed at Le Mans in 1953, it went on to score a 1–2 at the Tourist Trophy at Dundrod in the 6th round of the inaugural World Sportscar Championship. This helped Aston Martin to 3rd in the championship.
In 1954, the DB3S had a less successful season. The high point was a third place in the Buenos Aires 1000 km. However, the cars failed at the Sebring 12 hours, the Mille Miglia, Le Mans, and the Tourist Trophy.
In 1955, Aston Martin missed the opening two rounds at Buenos Aires and Sebring. The sole DB3S failed to finish at the Mille Miglia, but Collins and Frere finished 2nd at Le Mans. Walker and Poore scored a 4th at the Tourist Trophy behind the dominant 1–2–3 of the Mercedes 300SLR. This helped Aston Martin to finish 5th in the championship. There was also another win in the non-championship Goodwood 9 Hours.
By 1956, the design was starting to show its age, and Aston Martin was putting its resources into the development of the new DBR1. Nevertheless, the DB3S still finished 4th at Sebring and 5th at the Nurburging 1000 km. This contributed to a 4th place finish in the championship. Moss and Collins achieved a second place at Le Mans in a DB3S, although this event was a non-championship race due to regulatory changes following the 1955 disaster.
Originally, two works Aston Martin DB3S fixed-head coupés were made to improve aerodynamics. However, they were unstable at high speeds and both crashed at the 1954 24 Hours of Le Mans. Both coupés were then rebuilt as open-bodied cars. Three of the customer cars were also fitted with similar coupé bodies.
The DBR1 took over as Aston Martin's main sports racer. However, there was one last significant appearance for the DB3S in the hands of the Whitehead brothers at Le Mans in 1958. After all the works DBR1s failed to finish, the Whitehead brothers' DB3S secured a second-place finish.
The car's design has been recognized in post-competitive history, winning the 2013 Gran Turismo Trophy at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance.
The information presented is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted beyond the provided corpus and targeted research findings.
The corpus lists victories by specific chassis under Aston Martin:
DB3S/1: 1953 Charterhall, 1953 British Empire Trophy, 1953 Charterhall(2), 1953 Castle Coombe, 1954 Silverstone.
DB3S/2: 1953 B.A.R.C. Goodwood.
DB3S/3: 1954 Silverstone.
DB3S/4: 1953 B.R.D.C. Silverstone, 1953 Ulster TT Dundrod.
DB3S/5: Converted from David Brown's road car. Victories include 1954 B.O.C. Prescott, 1955 B.A.R.C. Crystal Palace, 1956 B.A.R.C. Goodwood, 1956 B.A.R.C. Aintree, 1956 B.A.R.C. Aintree(2).
DB3S/6: Originally a coupé, rebodied as an open-top car. 1955 B.R.D.C. Silverstone.
DB3S/7: Originally a coupé, rebodied as an open-top car. 1955 B.A.R.C. Aintree, 1955 Silverstone, 1955 B.A.R.C. Goodwood, 1956 B.A.R.C. Goodwood.
DB3S/8: 1955 Spa Production Sports Car race, 1955 Oulton Park.
DB3S/9: Featured an aerodynamic headrest. 1956 Daily Herald International Trophy - Oulton Park.
DB3S/10: Featured an aerodynamic headrest. No listed victories.