Description
1967 Aston Martin DB6
Original RHD UK-supplied Vantage model
Extensive history from new
VEHICLE DESCRIPTION
Completed at the Newport Pagnell factory on 7 December 1967, this Aston Martin DB6 has been impeccably cared for throughout its life and comes with three extensive files that amount to virtually a full service history from new.
Chassis number DB6/ 3316/ R was registered PMX 410F on 21 December and delivered to its first owner – Captain AE Hare – on 3 January 1968. It was finished in Pacific Blue with Natural interior and featured the 325bhp Vantage engine, plus a heated rear screen, 3. 73:1 limited-slip differential and power aerial. Including Purchase Tax, it cost its proud new custodian £3587 15s 10d.
Throughout Captain Hare’s ownership, the DB6 was cared for by the factory and the detailed service records are included with the car’s paperwork. He clearly made the most of his Aston Martin – by the time it was serviced on 3 November 1971, it had covered 38, 231 miles.
Captain Hare owned the car until the mid-1970s, when it passed to Dr CH Cripps. He had it serviced and looked after by leading specialists such as Richard Stewart Williams. In 1983, Dr Cripps had repairs carried out to the sills and the windscreen replaced, and the following year the DB6 was acquired by a new owner – a Mr G Munthe.
The Aston Martin was fully restored over a period of several years during the late 1980s and early 1990s, including an engine rebuild in 1993. Its detailed service records continue for the rest of that decade and into the 21st century, and the DB6 has twice been sold by Aston Martin Works in the past 10 years. It also received a major service there in 2019.
Now beautifully presented in Dubonnet with matching Tudor Webasto sunroof and a Fawn interior, this Aston Martin DB6 retains its matching-numbers status and is being offered for sale by the Classic Motor Hub. It comes with its original instruction book as well as its book of service vouchers, MoT test certificates from 1980 onwards, and a detailed record of servicing and maintenance dating back to when it was new. Inertia-reel seatbelts have been added in the rear, and there are discreet supplementary speakers alongside the standard unit in the rear parcel shelf.
MODEL HISTORY
The DB6 was launched at the 1965 London Motor Show and was offered in both coupé and open-top Volante forms. At just under £5000, it was more expensive than its DB5 predecessor, and although it retained that car’s basic Touring outline, it featured an extended wheelbase and a higher roofline in order to provide more room in the rear.
It also introduced a redesigned rear end, with a Kamm-style ‘cut off’ and a spoiler that reduced lift and gave the DB6 a link to Aston Martin’s Project 215 racer. Touring’s Superleggera method of construction was dropped, but the revised structure was considerably more rigid while being only 17lb heavier than on the DB5.
The Tadek Marek-designed 3995cc straight-six engine was carried over from the DB5, in either triple-SU specification or as the triple-Weber Vantage. A Powr-Lok limited-slip differential and chrome wire wheels were offered as no-cost options.
Beneath the skin, there was rack-and-pinion steering and independent front suspension, with a live rear axle and Watt linkage. Girling disc brakes were fitted all round, and a five-speed manual gearbox was standard fitment – there was also the option of a three-speed Borg Warner auto.
Motor magazine opened its road test by stating that the DB6 was ‘superior in every way’ to its predecessor. It posted a 0-60mph sprint in 6. 1 seconds and 100mph came up in only 15 seconds, while its top speed was recorded as being 147mph.
Development of the next-generation William Towns-designed DBS continued in the background and the new model was introduced in 1967 – but that didn’t spell the end for the DB6. A Mk2 version was introduced in 1969 – with wider wheels and optional fuel injection – and the model remained in production until late the following year before finally being discontinued.
