Before the DB2 went into production, four prototypes were made and they laid the foundation for David Brown’s first successful sports car. His purchase of Aston Martin was still fairly recent and he built upon all the available resources. The first three cars registered UMC64, UMC65 and UMC66 would launch Aston Martin down a successful path that eventually included an overall victory at Le Mans in 1959 with the DBR1. 

As far as the factory was concerned, these prototypes were named the DB Mark II since they followed a small run of roadsters known as the ‘Two Litre Sports’ or DB1. Unlike the DB1, the DB2 was purpose built for racing and all of the first prototypes did just that.

At the 1949 Le Mans, David Brown brought three of his new Coupes and one of them was fitted with the potent Lagonda 2.6-liter engine. The other two had a inline-4 design that was good for the 2-liter class. These cars faced a wide range of competition including prewar cars and the winning Ferrari 166 MM of Luigi Chinetti. Remarkably, one of the 2.0-liter cars placed seventh overall.

The six-cylinder car, UMC66, went on to race at SPA and eventually became the development car for the DB2. David Brown built a fourth car for himself registered UMC272 which was raced in 1950 under the management of John Wyer. Almost all the subsequent cars were used for racing until the model was officially launched at the 1950 New York Auto Show in April.

type	Concept / Prototype Car
built at	Fetham, England
body stylist	Frank Feeley
production	4
engine	Lagonda Inline-6
position	Front Longitudinal
aspiration	Natural
fuel feed	2 SU Carburetors
displacement	2580 cc / 157.44 in³
bore	78 mm / 3.1 in
stroke	90 mm / 3.5 in
compression	6.5:1
engine designer	Willie Wilson
power	78.3 kw / 105 bhp
specific output	40.7 bhp per litre
bhp/weight	95.45 bhp per tonne
body / frame	Steel Chassis
driven wheels	RWD
front brakes	Drums
rear brakes	Drums
f suspension	Trailing Parallel Links
r suspension	Rigid Axle
curb weight	1100 kg / 2426 lbs
transmission	DB 4-Speed Manual