The picture above shows Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori at 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans, which they won in an Aston Martin DBR1. Both these legends, and the then chief engineer Ted Cutting, passed away in recent weeks, and that gave Aston the idea to bring back the winning 1959 car to la Sarthe circuit at 2012 Le Mans race to pay tribute to these great men. This is part of a host of tributes that Aston Martin will pay during Le Mans week.

Sadly the DBR1 won’t be hitting the track. It’s too old, and too valuable, for that. It will be sitting on display outside Aston Martin’s hospitality suite at the Parc du Raccordement, near to the start of the pit straight. The DBR1 will leave the job of racing to its grandsons, #97 and #99 Vantage GTEs. These cars will carry a a commemorative plaque, while the drivers will also carry the initials of Shelby and Salvadori, and the number 59, on their helmets.

Aston is also bringing the V12 Zagato racer to the event, and that too will be sporting #59 instead of its #005 designation.

Aston Martin has also produced a two-minute silent film as a tribute to Shelby, Salvadori and Cutting using original footage from the 1959 Le Mans race, from their arrival to the track to taking the chequered flag: