By 1965 the lithe and elegant Aston Martin DB4, via the more refined and faster DB5, had become the bigger heavier and more brutal DB6. It was a car that almost forced you to admire it instead of charming you with its refined elegance as its predecessor had been renowned for doing, but it was a distinctive vehicle and not one to be forgotten quickly. Its head lights were flared in, its chassis lengthened, and its tail chopped for better aerodynamics at high speed. Little survived of tourings’ original and much loved 1958 shape. Beneath the alloy skin the Superleggera method of construction was abandoned. From this point on, all Aston Martin would have aluminium outer panels on steel inner panels. Power came from a 4 liter twin cam straight six, and was much the same as before. It came as standard with triple Sus but the Vantage version had triple Webers and this gave it significantly better acceleration something not lost on those who were luckily enough to enjoy the visceral pleasure provided by driving the Vantage. Opinions were similar to those of the DB5 but with the addition of a slip differential and, after, 1967, power steering.
You could even order automatic transmission on your Aston Martin and an increasing number of buying did. The Mk II version of 1967 had flared wheelarches and DBS style wire wheels. Some even had Lucas fuel injection systems. There were 140 ‘Volante’ convertibles. Some six of these were converted into shooting brakes by skilled London coachbuilder Harold Radford, making them the ultimate in high speed estate cars.
