Video: Legendary Aston Martin DB3 battles 400hp V8 Kurtis

23rd May 2020

Henry Biggs

Peter Collins is perhaps a somewhat overlooked British racing driver from an era that created many heroes. Tragically, Collins was one of the shortest lived, which perhaps explains why he is less well-remembered than Sir Stirling Moss or John Surtees. However, Collins was as talented as any of his peers, winning both Grands Prix and sports car races for Ferrari and famously nobly handing his car to team-mate Fangio, denying himself the World Championship.

Incredibly charismatic, he married an American starlet from a political power family, Collins would nowadays by a Forumla 1 PR person’s dream. Fitting then that we remember him in one of our most eye-catching and dramatic races, the Peter Collins Trophy for stunning 1950s sports cars. In this clip we see the scrap ensuing from Rob Hall in an Aston Martin DB3 catching Geraint Owen’s brutal V8 Kurtis 500. It nearly ends with both of them taking each other out but superb car control saves the day.