Aston Martin scored its only overall win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1959.
The winning car was an Aston Martin DBR1/300 driven by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby. It completed 323 laps of the Circuit de la Sarthe, while a second works Aston Martin finished runner-up, giving the marque a memorable 1–2 result.
The victory was the culmination of decades of attempts. Aston Martin first entered Le Mans in 1928 and had competed regularly since 1931, recording several podium finishes before finally taking the outright win. The 1959 success also helped Aston Martin secure that year’s World Sportscar Championship.
This result is often confused with Aston Martin’s later class victories or with its strong performances in other endurance events. “Overall win” means finishing first against the entire field, not merely winning a category. The DBR1’s 1959 triumph remains Aston Martin’s sole outright Le Mans victory.