1966 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Coupe

In 1965, the DB6 was unveiled at the London Motor Show to great anticipation. The new iteration shared many qualities with its highly popular predecessor, the DB5 of James Bond fame, although it featured noticeable differences, such as a longer wheelbase, Kamm tail to increase downforce, and a unitized construction in place of the DB5 tube-steel chassis. The profile was restyled with a split bumper in the front, rendering the two models easily identifiable. The DB6 was the first Aston martin to be constructed at the Newport Pagnell site, and this Vantage was completed in October 1966. It was an original left-hand drive car destined for the United States in early 1967. In addition to the Vantage high-performance engine, it was factory equipped with seldom seen options, including fog lamps, air conditioning and chrome wheels. Jim Walter, founder of Jim Walter Homes, was the original owner of this automobile, and the current owner acquired the car in 2021.

The Vantage engine had evolved from the DB4 Special Series first seen in 1961. The Vantage specification used three Weber carburetors, more aggressive camshafts, and high-compression heads, uprating the Tadek Marek-designed and race-proven inline six-cylinder engine to deliver even greater horsepower.

The DB6 rested on a 3.7-inch longer wheelbase than its predecessor and wore a modern Kamm-style tail. The first owner of this Grand Tourer was James Willis Walter, founder of Jim Walter Homes, later known as Walter Energy. Mr. Walter ordered his DB6 with the uprated Vantage engine, Normalair air conditioning, chrome wheels with three-ear hub caps, two Walkers wing mirrors, two Marchal fog lamps, and a European-specification Bosch Koln TR radio with a power-operated aerial.

This DB6 was completed on October 17th of 1966 and it is believed that it did not reach the shores of the United States until the new year. Thus, the DB6 has been registered as a 1967 model year.

The current owner's family acquired this DB6 in 1982 and in 2018 it began a complete 'nut and bolt', open-checkbook restoration. The work was performed by Kevin Kay Restorations and the work took nearly three years to complete. The car was completely disassembled, the Vantage engine was increased to 4.2-liters with modern JMB 'Fast Road Cams' and modern valves, a Tremec five-speed transmission was installed, the suspension was upgraded with a larger front sway bar and coil-over shocks, a rear Steel Wings handling kit was installed, cooling was upgraded with a JMB high-flow water pump, aluminum radiator and Evans waterless coolant, and the fuel tanks were replaced with alloy versions, all to improve drivability and reliability. It was resprayed in the original color of Silver Birch and upholstered in factory-correct Dark Blue Connolly leather with matching Wilton carpet.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2021