Aston Martin DPLM

Last updated

Gipfast Special (DP/801/H)
Category Le Mans Racer, Sports car racing
Constructor David Preece, Ken Heywood
Technical specifications
Chassis Aluminium sheeted, spaceframed chassis with integral roll-cage, fibre glass panels
Suspension (front) In-board coil springs and dampers with rocking arms
Suspension (rear) Reversed 'A' wishbones
Engine Aston Martin 5,340 cc [1] V8,
480 bhp (360 kW) @ 7,000 rpm, naturally aspirated mid-mounted
Transmission Hewland LG600 Manual gearbox, 4 plate clutch
Weight 1160 kg
Tyres Dunlop [2]
Competition history
Notable entrants Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Simon Phillips Racing [3]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Preece
Notable drivers Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Preece [4]
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Robin Hamilton
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Simon Phillips
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Richard Jenvey
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg François Duret
Debut 1980 Silverstone 6 Hours
RacesWins Poles F.Laps
1000
Aston Martin DPLM (DP/812/H)
Aston Martin DPLM 001.jpg
Category Le Mans Racer, Sports car racing
Constructor David Preece, Ken Heywood
Technical specifications
Chassis Aluminium sheeted, spaceframed chassis with fibre glass panels
Suspension (front) Unequal wishbones, coilover dampers and front anti-roll bar
Engine Aston Martin 5,340 cc [1] V8,
560 bhp (420 kW), naturally aspirated, FR Layout
Transmission ZF 5-Speed Manual Aston Martin/Sailsbury differential, Salisbury plate type LSD
Weight 1100 kg
Tyres Dunlop
Competition history
Notable entrants Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Preece
Notable drivers Flag of the United Kingdom.svg David Preece
Flag of the United Kingdom.svg Reg Woodcock
Debut 1982 Brands Hatch 1000 km
RacesWins Poles F.Laps
1000

The Aston Martin DPLM (formally known as the Gipfast Special) is a sports prototype racing car that was built by David Preece and Ken Heywood. Utilizing an Aston Martin V8 engine tuned by AVJ Developments, the car was designed to participate in the World Sportscar Championship as well as the 1980 24 Hours of Le Mans. [3] The original Gipfast Special was damaged in its debut race in 1980, while a second chassis was constructed for use in 1982. Despite the team's intentions, the DPLM only participated in two major races.

Sports prototype purpose-built racing car not intended for general production or use beyond motorsport

A sports prototype, sometimes referred to as simply a prototype, is a type of race car that is used in the highest level categories of sports car racing. These purpose-built racing cars, unlike street-legal and production-based racing cars, are not intended for consumer purchase or production beyond that required to compete and win races.

Aston Martin English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers

Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings plc is a British independent manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. It was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated with expensive grand touring cars in the 1950s and 1960s, and with the fictional character James Bond following his use of a DB5 model in the 1964 film Goldfinger. Their sports cars are regarded as a British cultural icon. Aston Martin has held a Royal Warrant as purveyor of motorcars to the Prince of Wales since 1982. It has over 150 car dealerships in over 50 countries on six continents, making them a global automobile brand. The company is traded at the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.

V8 engine piston engine with eight cylinders in vee configuration

A V8 engine is an eight-cylinder V configuration engine with the cylinders mounted on the crankcase in two sets of four, with all eight pistons driving a common crankshaft. Most banks are set at a right angle (90°) to each other, some at a narrower angle, with 45°, 60°, and 72° most common.

Contents

History

DP/801/H

After partnering with Robin Hamilton in the 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans in the unique Aston Martin RHAM/1, Shropshire dentist David Preece set out to create his own car which could compete at Le Mans. During 1979 and 1980 Preece was joined by skilled engineer Ken Heywood to design and build the car which would eventually become known as the Gipfast Special. Other than the engine, most of the project was built in Preece's own garage. The Gipfast was powered by a mid mounted Aston Martin V8 engine based on the production engine utilized in the Aston Martin V8, similar to that used on the RHAM/1. The engine was tuned by AVJ Developments of Pershore, featuring dry sump lubrication and Cosworth DFV style fuel injection, producing around 480 bhp. The initial chassis, DP/801/H, was completed in early 1980 and entered in the World Championship 6 Hours of Silverstone in May of that year. Partnered alongside the returning RHAM/1 under the control of Simon Phillips Racing, the two Aston Martins ran under the title of sponsor Ault & Wiborg. The Gipfast struggled for speed in its debut, qualifying 29th out of 30 entries and was slower than the RHAM/1. At the start of the six-hour endurance race, the DPLM suffered a suspension failure after only four laps and crashed heavily. The damage to the car was unable to be repaired in time for Le Mans a month later and the car was abandoned later that year.

The 1977 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 45th Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 11 and 12 June 1977.

Aston Martin RHAM/1 highly modified Aston Martin DBS V8 racing car

The Aston Martin RHAM/1 was a highly modified Aston Martin DBS V8 racing car, developed by Robin Hamilton, built with the intention of racing at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. After development by Hamilton, RHAM/1 competed in the 1977 and 1979 24 Hours of Le Mans, finishing 17th overall and 3rd in the GTP class in the 1977 race. The car has also held the World Land Speed Record, for towing a caravan, at the speed of 124.91 mph.

Aston Martin V8 type of grand tourer manufactured by Aston Martin

The Aston Martin V8 is an automobile which was manufactured by Aston Martin in the United Kingdom from 1969 to 1989. As with all traditional Aston Martins, it was entirely handbuilt – with each car requiring 1,200 man-hours to finish.

DP/812/H

After the demise of DP/801/H, Preece and Heywood spent 1981-82 developing a new car, now known as the DPLM (Dave Preece Le Mans). The second chassis, DP/812/H, was front engined and retained the same AVJ built V8 engine now rumoured to be producing 560 bhp. Debuting in Britain once again at the World Sports Car Championship 1000 Kilometers at Brands Hatch, the car qualified 28th out of 33 entrants. The race performance was stunted as the DPLM crashed in the opening laps in treturous weather conditions. Following the second failure for the DPLM project, the car was retired from competitive use and made successful appearances in Aston Martin Owners Club and other national events during the rest of the 1980s driven by Preece and later Barrie 'Whizzo' Williams, for the then owner Stewart Bond. The car was purchased from Bond around the year 2000 and was sympathetically restored and recommissioned by its current owners of the Hipwell family, appearing at the AMOC Horsfall meeting at Silverstone in 2003 where the car suffered from fuel feed problems and DNS.

Brands Hatch race track

Brands Hatch is a motor racing circuit in West Kingsdown, Kent, England. First used as a grasstrack motorcycle circuit on farmland, it hosted 12 runnings of the British Grand Prix between 1964 and 1986 and currently hosts many British and International racing events. The venue is owned and operated by Jonathan Palmer's MotorSport Vision organisation.

The Aston Martin Owners Club is one of the oldest one-make car enthusiast clubs, one of the largest with worldwide membership and one of the leaders.

See also

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References

Further reading

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