Highlights
- One of only 270 factory Vantage DB6s
- Remarkable and extensive history file tracing back to the first owner!
- Owned eleven years by the vendor and forty years by the previous keeper
- Around £100,000 spent on restoring and maintenance the car by the current owner
- Included: Cabin retrim in 2014 and bare metal respray in 2015
- Matching numbers 325bhp factory Vantage with a five-speed manual gearbox
- Previous owner for 40 years tastefully improved the car to run on unleaded , 4.2 litres and SU carbs done by GTC Engineering
- Beautifully finished in Silver Birch
- MOT exempt but usefully MOT’d to April 2025 and subject to a recent oil change and check-over
The Appeal
The DB5 was so good and so elegant that when it came to updating it, little needed changing. The new DB6 added a longer Kamm tail and, crucially, more power, to become one of the most sought-after cars of the '60s and subsequent decades.
With their handbuilt construction and Tadek Marek engines, these were highly rarified cars. Just 1,327 Mk1 DB6s were built. Those seeking more power and more exclusivity sought one of the 270 Vantage models, which hiked power to 325bhp.
This beautiful 1966 DB6 Mk1 is one of the first built and therefore a very early Vantage. It is a matching numbers car with the correct ‘V’ engine suffix denoting those sought-after, factory-fitted power upgrades. There is also a desirable manual five-speed gearbox.
It has been lovingly curated by its long term keeper. He commissioned a high-end interior retrim in 2014 and then a professional bare metal respray in classic Silver Birch in 2015. Since then over £28,000 has been invested across the car, including an upgrade to power steering and regular servicing. It's engine has been rebuilt from 4.0-litres to 4.2, additionally undergoing the costly unleaded cylinder head conversion. It's also had new sills fitted - another expensive endeavour that cures a well-known DB6 ailment.
Despite a Historic Vehicle MOT exemption it is a mark of the seller’s high standards that the car has been regularly MOT’d during his ownership. This enables the buyer to check the use - a sparing average of 550 miles a year - and provides a handy independent verification of the condition that is otherwise obvious from the photographs. The current MOT runs to April 2025 with no advisories.
The DB6 Vantage is one of Britain’s greatest GT cars - of the '60s or any subsequent decade. And this meticulously maintained example has to be amongst the best available.
The History and Paperwork
- First registered 18th March 1966
- Current owner has spent around £100,000 in restoration and maintenance
- Remarkable and extensive history file tracing back to the first owner!
- Early chassis number: DB62552R - the first DB6 Mk1 chassis was 2351
- Only 270 DB6 Vantages are reported to have been built by various sources
- Matching numbers - Vantage-appropriate engine number: 400/2573V
- Previous owner kept the car four decades acquiring it in 1973.
- Current vendor has owned the car since 2013
- Original registration document present
- Handwritten sale document recording purchase in January 1973!
- 28,874 miles indicated - the figure is likely higher as this is a five-figure odometer
- Comprehensive history file as shown in photos with recent highlights summarised below
- Interior replaced in 2014 and bare metal respray in 2015
- Usefully regularly MOT tested although registered as Historic Vehicle so exempt
- MOT history very good with few advisories and showing regular, sparing use
- Current MOT to 9th April 2025 with no advisories and 28,816 miles showing on test
Notable maintenance totalling over £28,000 shown in photos:
- Check over and oil change in May 2024
- Oil change and general check over August 2023
- Service and electrical repairs in 2018
- Engine work and brakes overhauled 2018
- Power steering kit fitted in 2016
- Suspension and steering repairs 2016
- Brakes and welding work in 2016
- Work to suspension and clutch in 2015
The Condition
- Classic Silver Birch metallic paintwork applied in 2015 to high standard
- Repainted as part of a high end professional bare metal restoration
- Paintwork presents to a very high level with no notable marks or scuffs to advise
- Bodywork in very good condition with excellent panel alignment and finish
- Sills previously replaced
- Engine compartment refinished while the engine was removed
- All trim rechromed
- Vantage detailing including wing badges
- Underside in similarly well kept condition with no structural advisories on MOT
- Large Webasto-style folding sunroof
- Retrimmed black leather interior finished in very high standard showing little wear
- Connolly leather and Wilton carpets used in the retim - with heat proofing material fitted under the carpets
- Very original and unmodified interior including Motorola period radio, now made IPod-compatible
Silver may have been Mr Bond’s colour of choice, but there is another good reason to choose it for your Aston Martin: as this car shows, it makes a DB6 look very good. This car was repainted from green around ten years ago and it was a wise move.
The work involved a bare metal restoration and the finish is to a particularly high level, as the photographs demonstrate. The bodywork is to a matching standard, the panel fit being noteworthy. There are no obvious defects and the car is factory correct, down to the Vantage wing badges.
Inside there is a retrimmed black leather interior that retains the quality of its 2014 refit. It is also pleasingly unmodified, which has included the seller sourcing a rare period-correct Motorola radio. A large Webasto-style folding sunroof adds to this car’s appeal.
The Mechanics
- Matching numbers engine has been tastefully uprated to 4.2-litre in 2000
- Vantage 325bhp factory specification verified by engine number
- Five-speed ZF manual gearbox
- Converted to SU carburettors for long-distance usability by previous owner
- £28,000 of investment since 2015 summarised above and shown in photos
- Upgraded to specialist power steering system
- Recent health check and service in May 2024
- No mechanical advisories on current MOT
- In very good condition, on the button and ready to be enjoyed!
Where other GTs favoured a more relaxed driving experience, serious Aston Martin buyers were all about engagement. They chose the long-legged ZF five-speed gearbox option for their DB6s, to exploit the potential of that sweet-revving, hand-built Tadek Marek straight-six.
They would also have chosen the Vantage specification, which hiked power to 325bhp from the standard car’s claimed 282bhp. Genuine factory-built Vantages are rare but this car has the correct engine specification which is verified by V5C data. If that wasn't enough, this example has undergone the coveted 4.2-litre conversion, carried out by GTC Engineering along with an unleaded cylinder head conversion.
It also has that desirable ZF gearbox, making it - along with its Silver Birch finish - arguably the ‘ideal’ specification for a DB6. The mechanical condition matches the superb bodywork and interior, thanks in part to £28,000 of ongoing investment by the seller since 2015. It is clear from the history file that whatever this car has needed, it has had. The work is summarised above and has focussed on improvements and upgrades, including fitting a desirable power steering kit.
A recent oil change and health check along with refreshed MOT - with no advisories - reinforce the impression of a car that has been carefully curated and arrives on the market in very good order.
BEFORE YOU BUY
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