We introduce the first family of
Aston Martin road cars
First off, let’s get the 007 thing out of
the way. As the novelist Ian Fleming originally conceived him, James Bond drove
a vintage ‘Blower’ Bentley. Movie anoraks tell me that the first car that Bond
actually drove in a film was a Chevy Bel Air. It wasn’t until the series’ third
flick, Goldfinger, that Sean Connery was cast as an Aston Martin DB5 driver. In
the latest, Skyfall, Daniel Craig is back in another gadget-laden DB5 – as if
we cared.
Because the DB4/5/6 Aston Martins, whatever
Bond may have done to their values, are much more important than mere props for
a repetitive series of money-spinning macho cinema fantasies. They have to be
considered as all-time great grand toreros, things of beauty that epitomize the
standing of the marque. Even today they remain a rewarding way to tackle any
long, fast journey on challenging roads. And somehow, just as a Ferrari could
only be Italian and a Porsche could only be German and despite the Italian
roots of their elegant styling – these Astons could never be anything but English.
Aston
Martin DB4
For the first 10 years of David Brown’s
ownership, Aston Martin’s DB road cars – four-cylinder DB1 and six-cylinder
DB2, DB2/4 and DB MkIII – were elegant hand-built coupés with style and
charisma. But even in final 3-litre form they had difficulty reaching 120mph,
and the cheaper; larger-engine XK Jaguars were appreciably quicker. To face
this challenge, work began on a bigger Aston as early as 1955, and at the ’58
London Motor Show it made its bow. Called the DB4, it created a sensation, and
for the Newport Pagnell firm it represented a radical change in philosophy.
Superb
cabin finish and 3.7-litre twin-cam ‘six’
The new all-alloy twin-cam straight-six
engine, designed by Tadek Marek, was of 3670cc, and in its initial form with twin
SU carburetors put out an advertised 240bhp (although power outputs quoted at
the time by AM, and others, often exaggerated by up to 15%). Harold Beach’s
chassis was a sturdy and extremely stiff steel platform, riding on front
suspension by unequal length wishbones and coils, and a live rear axle located
by trailing arms and a Watt linkage. Welded to the platform was a
superstructure of small-diameter tubes supporting aluminum body panels, a type
of construction developed by Italian coachbuilder Touring of Milan, which
called it superleggera or ‘super-light’.
Touring’s Felice Anderloni was responsible
for the breathtakingly beautiful body: one of those rare, utterly simple
automotive shapes in which every curve and contour seems to be just as it
should be, with a sweeping fastback roof, slender pillars giving a large glass
area, and a strong horizontal line from thrust-forward headlights to soberly
finned rear wings. It required no decoration or adornment, only the big bonnet
scoop and hot-air exits on the flanks breaking the purity of the shape.
With an 8ft 2in wheelbase and 14ft 9in
overall length, it was the first DB Aston with four proper seats, although rear
legroom was restricted. Fully equipped and beautifully finished, the DB4
weighed nearly 3000lb, but was a genuine 140mph car, and early in its life it
received kudos for being able to accelerate from 0-100mph and back to a dead
stop within half a minute – no mean achievement at the time, and underlining
the then-rare fitment of four-wheel disc brakes and servo assistance.
SIV
DB4 shows larger tail-lamps and later-style grille. ‘Dagmar’ bumper one of few
flourishes
It took a while for production to get into
full swing, but in the four years up to June 1963 more than 1000 DB4 coupés
were made, plus 70 of the convertible that was introduced in 1961. Throughout
the run various specification changes were made, which Aston experts group into
five separate variants, Series I to Series V. Early engine reliability problems
were addressed with increased sump capacity and oil cooler, while the
originally frameless door windows gained surrounds. The pattern of the radiator
grille was given stronger vertical bars, the bonnet hinges were moved from the
rear of the panel to the front, and the rear lights went from the original slim
units to triple separate round lenses on each side. The bonnet air intake
became smaller and neater, and Series V cars had a slightly longer body on the
same wheelbase, with a higher roofline, although a change at this point from 16in
to 15in wheels meant that the overall height was unchanged.
Gradually more options became available,
such as overdrive for the four-speed all-synchro gearbox, a more powerful
Vantage engine with three SUs and, towards the end, faired-in headlights under Plexiglas
covers. These echoed the lamp treatment on the lightened, short-wheelbase
DB4GTs, which were intended for racing customers. Only 94 of those were made
and are now hugely valuable – particularly the 19 chassis bodied by Zagato
