Touring received a total of three rolling chassis in 1956 and created what they anticipated to be a sales sensation. After being displayed at the Turin Motor Show, the Paris Salon and London Motor Show, Touring were expecting orders which sadly (and unexpectedly) were not forthcoming.

The first example (AM300/1161), was offered in a Daily Mail newspaper caption competition. The lucky winner, a Scot, called Alexander Smith soon sold the car as I believe, he couldn’t drive. This car remains in the UK in a private collection but is occasionally seen at historic events. The second car, (AM300/1162), was shown at the 1956 Paris Motor Show and eventually ended up in the US. Following restoration and exhibition at many prestigious concours, the car is now on public display in a motor museum in South Africa. 

As for the  final car, (AM300/1163), I have had the opportunity to photograph twice now. Firstly I saw the car back in the 1990’s at a Silverstone Coys Classic weekend when it was being offererd for sale by Talacrest, a dealer more closely associated with classic Ferraris. Almost 20 years later in August 2013, I very fortunate to be able to see and photograph this beautiful car again during ‘The Quail, a Motorsports Gathering’ in Carmel, California.

Although the Spyder generated no additional sales, the association between Touring and Aston Martin had begun.  Touring went on to style the highly successful 1958 DB4, also using the Superleggera method of construction. It is easily possible to see many styling cues on the Sypder that were carried through to the early DB4 such as the pronounced headlights, grille, bumpers and vertical tail lights.