“All in all, the DB4 Vantage leaves the
driver with an almost unhealthy hankering after The Good Things of Life. It is
the sort of car that makes you feel a better man than you are both in terms of
its intrinsic quality and roadworthiness. Its faults are few and far between
and its virtue numerous” – the Sporting
Motorist conducts the first British road test of the DB4 Vantage in
June 1962
If any car warranted the epithet ‘timeless’, the
all-new Aston Martin DB4 that debuted at the 1958 London Motor Show was
it.
Nominally a four-seater, the DB4’s Touring-designed
Superleggera coachwork combined Italian flair and subtle elegance with the
British tradition of craftsmanship and understated style. It was a Savile Row
suit crafted from the finest Italian cloth.
Production of the DB4 ran through five series,
finally ending in June 1963, each one more capable and better engineered. A
Special Series, high-performance engine was available from late-1961 onwards
and these cars – when combined with the faired-in headlights of the DB4 GT –
were sold as Vantages, a reprise of Aston’s traditional name for its most
potent production models. Much rarer today, the final Series 5 Vantages were
DB5s in all but name.
This car, in seldom-seen and desirable left-hand
drive, with almost essential overdrive, is one.
The Aston Martin DB4 Vantage
By the early 1960s, three years on from its launch,
the DB4 had become a firm favourite of high-living socialites, businessmen and
scions of the great European industrial dynasties. Its 3.7-litre, all-alloy
straight-six produced a published 240bhp – enough to propel the generous 2+2 to
around 140mph.
Fine-handling came courtesy of race-bred
suspension, and the large Dunlop disc brakes endowed owners of the British GT
with, in Car and Driver’s words, the security of stopping
“faster than anyone else.” Various small changes to trim, radiator grilles and
rear lights marked the first four series of DB4s. Mechanically, the engineers
at Feltham and Newport Pagnell constantly improved the car with better oil
cooling, a twin-plate clutch and other smaller revisions.
A Special Series (SS) engine was introduced in
September 1961 as an option on the Series 4. Now producing a claimed 266bhp,
Tadek Marek’s latest design had the bigger valves of the DB4 GT and a raised
compression ratio (from 8.25:1 to 9.1:1). All SS engines were equipped with
three SU HD8 carburettors. In addition, buyers could specify the same,
faired-in headlamp treatment of the competition-focused DB4 GT. These cars –
although with any bespoke car variations exist – were officially referred to as
‘Vantages’.
A year later, in September 1962, Aston Martin
introduced the final version of the DB4. Retrospectively referred to as the
‘Series 5’, the latest car was longer by some 4in and had a slightly raised
roofline – almost imperceptible changes that made the car more comfortable and
practical, yet retained its original sporting wheelbase. The wheels were now
15in as standard and the instrument panel of the GT was fitted to most cars. As
before, buyers could choose the high-performance SS engine with, or without,
faired-in headlamps.
Aston Martin built 1,135 DB4s. The Aston Martin
Heritage Trust confirms that 145 Series 5s were produced, 90 in Vantage tune.
Of these, only 20 were left-hand drive and just four were Black Pearl. Just two
in this colour were ordered with a matching black interior.
This Motor Car
According to a copy of the factory build sheet that accompanies the car,
DB4/1214/L was despatched on 29 May 1963 and delivered to first Parisian
owner Alexis Rateau who lived in the 7thArrondissement, the
home to the French upper classes since the 17th Century. Rateau’s father,
Auguste, was an engineer who specialised in turbines and was awarded the title
Commander of the Legion of Honour. The sale was handled by French national
distributor Société Mirabeau on 5 June 1963. DB5 production commenced in July
that year; ‘1214/L’ is one of the final DB4s.
It was a left-hand-drive Aston Martin DB4 with
triple SU HD 8 carburettors and engine number 370/1177/SS. Its Body Type was
listed as ‘Vantage saloon’ and the quaintly titled Particulars of Non-Standard
Equipment note: ‘Vantage spec, overdrive, chrome wheels, intermediate
silencers’.
The speedometer read in kph and ‘1214/L’ had the
regular David Brown four-speed gearbox with a 3.77:1 final drive, the usual
ratio for overdrive cars allowing better in-gear acceleration with the option
of more relaxed cruising when required. Tyres were Dunlop RS5s. As delivered,
the car was finished in Black Pearl (ICI MO35-2628) with matching Black Vaumol
8500 hide from Connolly – a stunning combination commissioned by only two DB4
Vantage clients.
Little is known of the early history of this car, though, prior to our
client purchasing it in 2000, the engine had been rebuilt in France the
previous year. On purchase, it bore the French plate ‘886 BPP 78’ but was
re-registered in Switzerland when exported in 2002. As President of Cartier, he
always fitted Cartier clocks to his classic cars – chassis 1214/L bears one today. The car was retrimmed in Switzerland
in 2002 and used until 2010, since when it has been in carefully maintained
storage and would benefit from a thorough going-over at a specialist. The
odometer shows 30,196km.
A full restoration to as-delivered Black Pearl remains an option and
would, no doubt, result in a show-stopping car for the best concours and Club
meetings.
Fast, stylish and practical, the final DB4s heralded the start of the
Golden Age of six-cylinder Newport Pagnell Aston Martins. This rare left-hand
drive Vantage merits serious consideration.
With thanks to Tim Cottingham at the Aston Martin
Heritage Trust