1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT Coupe

Thanks to Mr. Bond, Aston Martin would become an iconic sportscar mark, the DB5 would be considered the ultimate expression. This would be disputed however as, in 1959, at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, there would be an Aston Martin powering its way up towards the Dunlop Curve. It would be, perhaps, the greatest expression of the DB series.

Aston Martin continued its assault on Le Mans and continued to come up short, but this didn't mean the small automotive company wasn't learning valuable lessons. The DBR1 was the mark's great hope for an overall victory. However, Aston Martin would also be developing a GT car using many of the same lessons. Developed to contend with Ferrari's 250 GT, the DB4GT would be a no nonsense race car that could also make its presence felt on the street as well.

To be competitive within the GT category, Aston Martin would have to get serious with its DB4 model. Then, at the 1959 London Motor Show, Aston Martin would demonstrate just how serious they were.

Called the DB4GT, the example would be a ruthless competitor. Complete with a higher compression inline six-cylinder engine, triple Weber carburetors and a twin-plug dual-ignition cylinder head the new DB4GT would pump out 302bhp, a boost of some 60 horsepower over a standard DB4. But this would be just the beginning.

Thin, 18-gauge aluminum skin, a shorter wheelbase and no rear seats would all go to help to reduce the car's overall weight by some 200 pounds and would help the car to accelerate from zero to 60 in a little more than 6 seconds and a top speed of more than 150mph. All told, the DB4GT would be one of the most aggressive GT cars ever to be produced at the time.

Being a GT car, this powerful Aston Martin would be able to grace the track and the road. Involved in an intense rivalry with Ferrari throughout the late 1950s and early 1960s, the DB4GT would be a force to be reckoned with, and therefore, a seriously desirous example of the DB mark.

In total, only 75 examples of the DB4GTs would be built. Of those 75, a mere 30 would be produced with left-hand drive, DB4/GT/0119/L would be just such an example. Completed in March of 1960, 0119/L would sport a Connolly black leather interior and a Carmine livery. Delivered to J.S. Inskip, the Aston Martin distributor in New York City, the first registered owner would be Edward Gaylord. The Gaylord name would become famous as a result of the invention of the bobby pin. As a result of the fortune earned the Gaylord family would have a number of fine automobiles, the DB4GT, however, it could have been argued, would be the best of the lot.

Edward Gaylord would end up selling the Aston a little while later to Ted Holmes of Illinois. Gaylord would realize just how much he missed the car and would end up buying the car back some time later.

The car would eventually change hands a few times and would end up in the hands of Jody Perry. Perry was the niece of James Greener who had come to own the Aston a few years earlier. In 1989, Perry would sell the car to Gene Sorbo, a well-known Aston collector. Soon afterward, the car would end up in the hands of Dennis Machul.

While with Machul the DB4GT would take part in a number of racing events all along the east coast and would also undergo restoration. Upon completion, and with only about 40,000 miles on the car, the car would become available for sale.

The car has been with its current owner since 2001 and has been a prominent fixture within an extensive collection. Presented in metallic Royal Blue, 0119/L remains largely unchanged from when it made its trip across the Atlantic in early 1960.

Intriguing, exciting from every angle and complete with the iconic imagery and the power to boot, the DB4GT would seem to have been the ideal choice for Bond's iconic mount. But then again, even this Aston Martin would have been too much for Britain's greatest agent.

Offered at the 2014 RM Auctions Monterey event, the 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT, chassis DB4/GT/0119/L, would achieve a sale price of $2,090,000.

By Jeremy McMullen