Ted Cutting, the man who designed the Aston Martin DBR1 that took Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori to victory at Le Mans over 50 years ago, has died. It is little known, but due to a fact-finding visit to Maserati, initiated by John Wyer, he didn’t see his cars cross the finish line in the top two places as they beat the Ferraris.
Edward John “Ted” Cutting had joined Aston Martin in 1949 following his training as an engineer and draftsman, a short spell at KLG Spark Plugs, the intervention of war and working at the Allard Motor Company. At that time, the Chief Engineer at Aston Martin was Prof. Eberan-Eberhorst of Auto Union Silver Arrows fame. Such was Ted’s ability, that just six years later he became Chief Racing Designer, responsible for all of Aston’s racing and competition cars from 1955–1963. While the DBR1 took victory at Le Mans in 1959, the car had already scored a hat trick of wins at the Nürburgring 1000K in 1957-’58-’59, and was to be his most successful racing car.
Of course, it has to be said, Ted was also responsible for the DBR4, Aston Martin’s front-engined Formula One car that was not in line with the modern thinking of the day. In fact, Cutting’s visit to Maserati on that glorious Le Mans weekend of 1959 was to evaluate a gearbox for the DBR4. That said, during his time as Chief Designer he guided Aston Martin through its most triumphant racing era.
Following the demise of the Aston Martin racing program, and a short stay at Glacier Bearings, Cutting went to Ford where he remained until the end of his career. While at Ford he briefly resumed his relationship with John Wyer, working on the GT40. However, things didn’t work out and he concentrated on road cars, working on advanced chassis structures for models such as the Cortina, Escort, Capri and Granada. Such was his expertise in car manufacturing that he became an advisor to the EU and governments that wanted to standardize vehicle manufacturing requirements.
Once retired, rather than turning his back on work and putting his feet up, he became a consultant, and even worked on Aston Martin projects in both production and racing. He also became more active by giving lectures and attending race meetings where he would always be pleased to give advice, support and a helping hand to those who raced the cars he’d designed. In 1996, his services to motor racing were finally rewarded when he was made an Associate Member of the British Racing Drivers Club.
I had recently been in contact with Ted, and his last words to me were, “Mike, it would be good to talk to you, but will you allow me to be a little frivolous in our conversation? I’ve had such fun, especially in the racing days at Aston Martin. Motor racing should be fun, and I’d like your readers to hear these stories.” Sadly, illness intervened and we didn’t get to talk.
Vintage Racecar offers sincere condolences to Ted’s wife Dorothy and his family and friends.
By Mike Jiggle
