Description
Veloce Classic and Sports Auto LTD is pleased to offer this rare and stunning 1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series II with an impressive upgrade to DB4 GT Spec Car Information: And what a car it is, the Aston Martin DB4 is one of the finest cars in automotive history. It combines elegance, performance and racing pedigree, with the DB4 GT topping the list. Our car combines the elegance of a usable DB4 with all the upgrades of a DB4 GT in both style and performance.
Aesthetically, the car adopts fairing headlamps with Perspex covers, a popular feature that was also soon adopted for the DB4 Vantage, but the Twin competition-style bumpers, quick-release Monza fuel filler caps, DB4/ GT headlamps, and no front and rear bumpers have been removed, a sports exhaust (which also improves performance and produces a breathtaking sound), 'quick-release' fuel caps on both rear pillars, wider Borrani 42 wire wheels added on each of the rear wings, and a Harvey Bailey suspension kit that gives the car a lowered sporty look but also improves performance.
Mechanically, the car is a masterpiece, with a Getrag five-speed gearbox combined with a rear axle ratio of 3. 06:1 and 3. 54:1.
The engine, which has been upgraded to Vantage specification, has undergone a massive upgrade. The car has an impressive and comprehensive history file that confirms the car's high quality and clearly shows how much it was loved by its previous owners.
This DB4 Series II is perhaps the closest you can get to a DB4 GT without having to pay the extreme sums needed to get it.
Historical models: the DB4 GT 1959 was a happy year at Newport Pagnell. Aston Martin won overall at Le Mans, taking 1st and 2nd place overall, with drivers Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori in the lead, followed by Maurice Trintignant and Paul Frere in second. Aston Martin also won the World Sports Car Championship title, becoming the smallest manufacturer to do so, before or since. One of the first cars to take part in the 24-hour race that year was also an Aston Martin, painted the same light green as the victorious DBR1. It was a prototype for a competition-oriented version of the company's new grand tourer, the DB4. In September 1959, the production version of that car, called the DB4GT, debuted at the London Motor Show. The body was made of incredibly thin 18-gauge aluminium alloy, the wheelbase had been reduced by about 5 inches, and the rear seats had been eliminated on all but three specially ordered cars, all to reduce weight by about 200 pounds. The engine was extensively modified, with a higher compression of 9:1, a twin-ignition cylinder head and three Weber 45 DCOE twin-throat carburettors, and was capable of producing the outstanding 302 horsepower at 6, 000 rpm. This was a useful increase over the standard DB4's claimed 240 horsepower and qualified the DB4GT as the most powerful British car of its era. The top speed achieved during testing was 153 mph, with a 0-60 time of 6. 1 seconds. It was also one of the first cars capable of going from a standstill to 100 mph and then braking to a standstill in less than 20 seconds, thanks in part to the upgraded Girling braking system used on racing Aston Martins of the era. The DB4 Series II Of all post-war Aston Martins, the gracefully elegant DB4 is most admired for its rugged British engineering combined with elegant Italian lines in perfect proportion. Specifications included a strong new steel platform chassis designed by Harold Beech, who had recently taken over as Aston Martin's chief engineer. In the production version, this rigid chassis supported a sleek, virtually unadorned fastback body, designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, which used its famous Superleggera construction, characterised by a skeleton of small-diameter steel tubes covered by hand-formed aluminium alloy body panels. The bodywork was built by Aston Martin under licence from Touring. The new chassis featured independent front suspension and a tensioned rear axle positioned by swing arms and a Watt's linkage. Four-wheel disc brakes and rack-and-pinion steering were installed for the first time; both elements were cutting-edge for the time and were offered well in advance of Ferrari's adoption. The most exciting development, however, was the innovative 3. 7-litre twin-cam straight-six alloy engine created by Tadek Marek and further developed for use in the DBR2. With twin SU carburettors, the engine reached 240 horsepower and produced the prodigious torque for which the DB series Astons became famous.
Now available from Veloce Classic and sports cars Ltd Price: £400, 000
