The Aston Martin DB2 is often overlooked as a successful competition car, which isn’t surprising given the existence of the DB3S, DBR1 and more recently the DBR9. But it’s the DB2 that got Aston’s post-war Le Mans quest in gear, leading directly to the zenith at La Sarthe with Salvadori, Shelby and the DBR1 in 1959.

With this in mind I set off to drive the most successful DB2 in existence – in 1950 and ’51 it won its class at Le Mans and in the Mille Miglia, and also won the 1951 Alpine Rally outright. Remarkably, it hasn’t been altered since 1957 when Aston Martin company owner David Brown was using it as his everyday car. The paint is original –various dents and scrapes give away its age – the interior hasn’t been touched and the scrutineering pass from the 1951 Mille Miglia still hangs around the steering column.

The steering is heavy – I’m amazed that anyone could drive the car for 24 hours – and I’m asked not to rev the engine too high, but it doesn’t matter one bit. VMF 64 might be a little rough around the edges, but this is a real piece of Aston Martin history: most of the parts on the car today were there when it finished third overall at Le Mans in ’51.