Engine: 3.7 L (3670 cc/223 in³) (and 3.8 L (3750 cc/228 in³) with Webber carburettors
Power: 225KW/302PS @ 6000 rpm
Torque: 325 N·m (240 lbs-ft) @ 5000 rpm
Transmission(s): 4 speed FB manual (5 speed ZF manual)
Drivetrain: rear-wheel drive
Weight: 1296kg/2851lbs
0-60 mph/100 kmh: 6,1s
Top Speed: 246 KM/H/153 MPH
Extrerior colours: green, black, light green, red, silver
Interiors: black leather and tree trims
This Aston Martin DB4 Series 5 Coupe is one of six of its series and type built with a super-performance GT twin-plug engine. A fuller appreciation of this spectacularly rare automobile's scarcity, desirability and performance capabilities may be gained through the following review of its attributes.
Ranking among the most prominent and storied British builders of sports cars, Aston Martin traces its roots to 1913, when Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford, partners at the time in a Singer car dealership, built a hill-climb special. Martin's strong showing with the car at the Aston hill climb spurred the duo's decision to build a marketable car. The nameplate chosen leveraged both Martin's fledgling celebrity as a racing drive and the prominence of the Aston event. A prototype Aston Martin was completed in 1915, but WWI intervened and it was set aside.
By 1922, Martin, now proceeding without Bamford, was building race-winning and record-setting Aston Martins, cars that would early on firmly establish the marque's status in British motorsports. After Lionel Martin departed his floundering concern in 1926, new owners tried with limited success to sell rather conventional passenger cars. Fortunately, they also continued to develop and market sports cars. Subsequent offerings such as the Le Mans sport car and Ulster racing model endeared Aston Martin to an interwar generation of young English enthusiasts—although of course few actually obtained one of these always very exclusive cars. Fewer than 700 Aston Martin cars of any type were built before the onset of World War II brought production to a halt.
In 1947, Sir David Brown brought both Aston Martin and Lagonda into his newly expanding manufacturing combine. The first Aston Martin to emerge from the new group was a prototype sport roadster dubbed the Atom. The well-received concept led to the Aston Martin 2-Liter Sports (retroactively known as the DB1) introduced in 1948, of which only 15 were built. The DB2—"DB" of course signifying David Brown—followed in 1950 and went on to win major victories at LeMans that same year. The stylish sports coupe was powered by a W.O. Bentley-designed DOHC 6-cylinder Lagonda engine. The DB2 was the first Aston-Martin to achieve international acclaim and its success led to the DB2/4 of 1953-1957, with an interim Mk II version introduced in 1955. The DB3 Mk. III (or simply, "Mk III") was introduced for 1958 and its performance marked the zenith of the venerable Bentley Lagonda engine, with ratings of 162 to 195bhp available.
Although unmistakably an Aston Martin, the DB4 revealed in late 1958 was an all-new car. Engine designer Tadek Marekt started with a clean slate when he created its twin-carbureted DOHC inline six, which pumped out 240hp. The DB4 body was evolutionary and revolutionary at the same time. Carrozzeria Touring of Milan had designed the body, which utilized their patented “superleggera” lightweight tube-frame structure. DB4 bodies were produced at the company's newly opened Newport Pagnell works in Buckinghamshire.
The DB4 was produced in five sequential series, loosely correlating with annual model change cycles. Visible changes were minimal for Series 2 through 4—window frames were added to the Series 2 body and Series 4 introduced a bar-type grille in place of the prior eggcrate design.
Introduced in September 1962, the DB4 Series 5 was transitional to the evolutionary DB5 that followed in late 1963. The Series 5 body was longer and taller than those of earlier DB4s (a reduced wheel diameter left overall height unchanged, though) and its wheelbase was extended by 3.5 inches. The new design provided more interior room. Most Series 5 cars featured Vantage/GT-style sloping front fenders with covered headlamps; the appearance would also be standard on the DB5 to come.
Aston Martin produced 185 Series 5 DB4 cars, 40 of which were convertibles. Six non-GT Series 5 coupes were built with the GT Twin-Plug engine and, as earlier noted this car is one of them. Add in that the Series 5 wheelbase was 3.5 inches longer than the earlier DB4s and we have here what amounts to a long-chassis GT.
Aston Martin first offered an optional higher performance "Vantage" engine for the 1951 DB2. The first Vantage upgrade offered on a DB4 was introduced for the Series 4 in 1961. The Series 4 Vantage engine breathed through three SU carbs and used a special cylinder head to develop 266bhp (198kW). Most DB4 Series 4 Vantage cars were also equipped with the DB4 GT-style front end, with its recessed, clear-cover headlamps.
A DB4 Vantage was used to create the DB5 prototype and was later modified into the famous gadget-laden Aston Martin driven by James Bond in the film Goldfinger.
The DB4 GT engine found in the offered Vantage GT was the heart of the DB4 GT high-performance model. The GT Coupe, introduced in late 1959, combined the most powerful Aston Martin production engine with a shortened chassis carrying a special lightweight body that was paneled with extra-thin aluminum. Special rounded front fenders, with inset headlamps protected by Perspex transparent covers, distinguished the early DB4 GT cars. The GT frontal appearance was later shared with Vantage-equipped DB4s and would eventually become the standard Aston Martin look, on DB4 Series 5 and DB5 models.
Over its production run, the GT engine was built in 3.7 and 3.8 liter displacements. Rated at 302bhp (225kW), it enabled the GT Coupe to accelerate to 60mph (97km/h) from rest in 6.1 seconds, while propelling it to a top speed exceeding 150mph (241km/h). Special equipment included three twin-choke Weber carburetors and an ignition system that utilized two distributors to look after the twin sparkplugs provided for each cylinder. A 9.0:1 compression ratio also helped. Fewer than 100 GT chassis were originally produced. Seventy-five were works GT models, with an additional 19 cars completed to DB4 GT Zagato specifications. One chassis bodied by Bertone was shown as the “Bertone Jet” concept car.
Fourteen specially ordered non-GT DB4 Aston Martins were factory-equipped with the higher-performance GT engine. Surviving examples are and always will be some of the most sought-after Aston Martins ever. They are frequently described in a short-form manner as Vantage GT cars, although the factory never used such a designation. Three non-GT DB4 Series 3 cars received the GT engine and five Series 4 and six Series 5 cars accounted for the remaining installations. The half-dozen DB4 Series 5 cars uniquely combined the refinements, longer wheelbase and added interior room of the DB 4 Series 5 with the prestige and distinction of the Vantage appearance and truly awesome power of the twin-plug GT engine. It is to be expected then that the offering of one of these cars has set the Aston Martin fraternity atwitter.
This genuine Series 5 Vantage GT was restored by Beaufort Restoration Services UK Ltd. It took the vintage competition car specialists more than a year to essentially remanufacture the sadly deteriorated car. Aston Martin specialist Richard Williams handled the engine rebuild; after determining the original GT block could not be saved, he utilized a larger (4.0 liter) block to reconstruct the GT inline six-cylinder DOHC twin-plug engine, which is fitted with the proper GT triple Weber carb set-up. The chassis was fitted with a DB5 five-speed transmission and rear-end.
Shortly after completion, the DB4 Vantage GT was featured in the February 1988 issue of Classic Cars. Author Jeremy Coulter joined the Aston Martin's owner and restorers to witness the car's first post-restoration test runs on a local airfield. Coulter's outstanding story, accompanied by Mike Valente photographs, covers the restoration in detail and is a wonderful testament to the restored car's performance and quality. The Vantage GT was subsequently run in vintage racing events for a number of years.
The Vantage GT retains the optional 17-inch steering wheel, heated rear window, electric door windows, dual wing mirrors and Marchal fog lamps that were part of its original equipment. It was delivered new to a Wm. Robb Esq., during 1963, with the known ownership history resuming after 1986. It was obtained by the vending collection from a private collection in 2006. A fully stamped FIA Form certifying the rare Series 5 Vantage variant as a Prototype GT vehicle accompanies the car.
In recent years, participants in an annual survey of brands have repeatedly voted Aston Martin "the coolest brand in the UK." Certainly marque enthusiasts around the world would agree that the acclaimed Vantage GT offered here ranks among the coolest of all vintage Aston Martins.
The Aston Martin Vantage GT is offered on a California certificate of title.
https://www.bonhams.com/auctions/17327/lot/240
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