c.1971 Aston Martin AMV8R "EVO 4"
Chassis no. 10330
Engine no. AE/MP5

As this took nearly five years to complete, the opportunity arose in 1988 to purchase the ex-Hyde Vale V8, chassis no. 10330 – the car offered here – which was rebuilt, modified and redesigned by Marsh Plant. It was campaigned initially in 1989, achieving six overall first places. This was followed in 1990 by two first places and one in 1991. In tandem, the Grand Prix DBR4 was also campaigned in 1990 and won all three races to win the AMOC Historic Car Championship.

V8R02 (chassis 10526) was a leap forward for a V8 race car as it used a flat floor under the car with a diffuser exiting at the rear. The front radiator grill was removed to allow air to pass over the front of the car exiting both sides of the engine. The ground effect was completed by an air splitter low down at the front of the car. The new V8R02 ground effect car was first raced during the 1993 season. This continued until the end of 1996, achieving 14 overall first places. In 1998 V8R02 achieved just one more overall first place at Brands Hatch before being used as a development test car.

Chassis no. 10330 had by now been stripped down to the bare chassis and used as a donor car for what would become the latest and ultimate development by Marsh Plant of the V8 and became known as EVO 4. The new car used an enlarged V8 displacing 6,145cc and mated to a Hewland SGT-S sequential gearbox. This was the first sequential gearbox ever fitted to an Aston Martin. The car incorporates driver aids such as power steering and gear change lights in the driver's sight line. It has a rear wing designed by Jock Clear, the respected Formula 1 engineer with much experience in various F1 teams, most recently with Mercedes F1 and shortly moving to Ferrari to replace Pat Fry as Head of Engineering.

EVO 4 emerged for racing in 1999 and was last raced by Gerry Marshall on the 10th October that year at Donington to culminate a long and successful career racing the Marsh Plant V8 cars. Gerry was finding difficulty in driving the V8 for a full race distance so for the 2000 season until 2004 he reverted to driving the DB4 lightweight where he achieved 13 first places, seven second places and three third places before his untimely death in April 2005.

The Marsh Plant V8 race cars were subject to inaccurate reporting in Autosport, which led Geoffrey Marsh to bring out EVO 4 for Anthony Reid to compete at Donington on the 19th October, 2008, where he won the AMOC Super GT race. The car had been in heated storage for almost nine years. A test took place at Silverstone on the 29th May, 2009, with a four page report in Autosport 11th June, 2009 (see attachment).

Due to the recession it was decided that the Team's last race would be at the AMOC Centenary Meeting on the 6-7th July, 2013, where Ray and Michael Mallock achieved a third and second place in the DB4 lightweight. Disposal of the Team cars had started and it was decided to bring out EVO 4 to be driven by Anthony Reid at the Goodwood Festival of Speed hill-climb, which ended in an accident.

The car was repaired to a high standard with all new parts held as running spares by the Team. Bodywork has been repaired and the car selectively repainted. A full pictorial record of the repair is available.

The car is eligible for the CSCC Special Saloons and Modsports Series. Technical data and an extensive list of valuable spares together with pictures is supplied with the car. This will include: Complete technical support file giving full history of the car and component documentation; ATL fuel cell (expires October 2018); Willans seat belts (expire end 2019); 30-litre dry break fuel filler bottle with stand; Stack Data Logging for engine information driver activity and suspension data; Quick lift jack; and a quantity of wheels and tyres for which an inventory is available by request. EVO 4 also comes with body mould for the front of the car forward of the windscreen. All spares can be collected from Marsh Plant in Havant, Hampshire.

So here we offer the ultimate incarnation of the Marsh Plant Aston Martin V8, offered direct from the man himself.

Should the vehicle remain in the UK, local import taxes at the standard rate will be applied to the hammer price.