Bonhams to offer Dubai-winning Aston Martin at UK auction

The car is expected to fetch between £360,000 - 400,000 at auction.

Winning second place in the 2006 FIA GT Championship and campaigned by German team Phoenix Racing, the 2006 Aston Martin DBR9 GT1 Sports-Racing Coupé crowned a highly successful year with victory - crossing the finishing line in the season-closing event in Dubai.

Bearing race number '5', the Phoenix DBR9 was driven by Jean-Denis Deletraz and Andrea Piccini in all ten rounds of the 2006 Championship.

Based in Europe and the Middle East, FIA GT is the world's premier production sports car series with a global fan base and some of motor sport's most talented drivers.

Cars compete in three-hour races on Europe's best-known circuits in front of crowds of up to 85,000 spectators, the highlight of the season being the Spa 24-Hour race in July.

Deletraz/Piccini finished on the podium on five occasions, and the Italian/Swiss duo was rewarded for consistency with 2nd place in the GT1 Drivers' Championship.

In the Manufacturers Cup, Aston Martin scored a total of 173 points, finishing ahead of Maserati, Corvette and Saleen.

In total the car has covered 13,175 kilometres, including the last FIA GT test at Monza, and is offered with its works engine and gearbox completely rebuilt.

The prop-shaft and driveshafts are new and the car comes with six sets of OZ wheels.

The 4-litre catch-tank and Mahtec FIA loom are special equipment.

Accompanying spares include right- and left-side front fenders and front bumper; two sets of dampers (one set Bilstein, the other Koni); and ten sets of H&R springs.

Ever mindful of its noble sporting traditions, Aston Martin derived the 'DBR9' name from that of the original Le Mans-winning DBR1, which not only won the 24-Hour race in 1959 but the World Sportscar Championship too.

Aston Martin Racing have built a number of DBR9s, which are run by the Works and customer teams in the major international GT series around the world.

With a rigid chassis, lightweight materials, optimum weight distribution and a powerful, normally aspirated, 6.0-litre V12 engine, the road-going DB9 is an excellent starting point for the production of the DBR9 racer.

The latter uses the DB9 road car's aluminium chassis and the V12 engine's cylinder block and heads but otherwise is extensively re-engineered for competition use.

The DBR9 gearbox is a 6-speed sequential unit, while the double wishbone suspension is purpose-built and the forged magnesium wheels have also been specially designed for the car by OZ Racing.

Large diameter carbon brakes are fitted front and rear.

In the cockpit, a carbon composite dashboard, lightweight racing seat and driver's instrument panel have replaced the road car's trim.

The DBR9's aerodynamic package has been developed using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) which, combined with the desire to follow the same lines as the DB9 road car, has helped define the overall body shape.

All the panels have been specifically hand crafted for the DBR9 and, to save weight, are all manufactured in carbon fibre composite (except the roof).

The large rear wing is also made from carbon fibre, while to complete the aerodynamic package, the under side of the car is flat from the front to the rear diffuser.

The result is a GT racing car with outstanding performance, yet one that retains all the beauty and integrity of an Aston Martin.