1961 Aston Martin DB4 Fastback Coupe

The Aston Martin DB4 was introduced in October 1958 and was the first car of the David Brown era which neither used a W. O. Bentley-era engine nor a chassis derived from the experimental Atom of 1939. It was the first Aston Martin to wear Carrozzeria Touring's 'Superleggera' bodywork, where light-gauge steel tubes were wrapped with light alloy panels. The previous multi-tubular spaceframe of the DB2/4 was replaced by a platform chassis that was designed by Harold Beach, and was suspended by unequal-length wishbones at the front with a live axle rear setup located by a Watts linkage instead of its predecessor's Panhard rod. Disc brakes provided the stopping power.

The 240 horsepower engine powering the DB4, complemented by the lightweight construction, made it the first production car capable of accelerating from a standing start to 100mph and back to rest again in under 30 seconds. The 3.7-liter, six-cylinder engine was the work of Tadek Marek and had first been seen at Le Mans in the works DBR2 sports-racer. The gearbox was a new David Brown four-speed all-synchromesh unit.

The DB4 was initially offered solely as a closed sports saloon until September 1961, when the convertible version was unveiled at that year's Motor Show. The fastback coachwork was styled by Touring but built under license at Newport Pagnell by Aston Martin.

Production of the DB4 began in October 1958 and continued through June 1963, and was developed through no fewer than five (unofficial) series.

This particular example is a 1961 Aston Martin DB4 'Series III' Vantage powered by a 3,670cc DOHC inline six-cylinder breathing through three SU carburetors and delivering 266 horsepower at 5,750 RPM. There is a four-speed manual transmission with overdrive and four-wheel disc brakes.

This Aston Martin is an original right-hand drive example that was built with the rare overdrive gearbox and subsequently converted by Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell to the later 'Special Series' engine specification (in 1964). When it was delivered to its first owner on May 6, 1961, it wore a Caribbean Pearl paintwork with Dark Blue Connolly leather interior. The vehicle was ordered by Oei Tjong Tjay, son of Chinese-Indonesian shipping tycoon Oei Tjong Ham.

It is believed that 165 examples of the DB4 Series III were built and 11 of those wore the Caribbean Pearl with Dark Blue leather.

Oei Tjong Tjay specified this DB4 to include an engine oil cooler, Marchal front fog lamps, indicator side repeaters to both front wings, electric windows, chrome wheels, heated rear window, an oil temperature gauge, pockets to the front seat backs, yellow headlamp bulbs, a loudspeaker wired to the rear bulkhead, and the overdrive gearbox.

By February of 1964, this Aston Martin had 19,182 miles on its odometer and was still in the care of Oie Tjong Tjay. At this time, the car returned to Aston Martin at Newport Pagnell for an engine upgrade to the later triple-carburetor 'Special Series' engine known to have been first offered in 1962. Along with the Vantage specification cylinder head, the exterior was repainted in Fiesta Red.

After relocating to the USA, the Aston was sold in 1971 to its second owner, known to be a US Army Officer, then later acquired in 1979 within the USA by Mr Mark Strachan, who retained the car until 1990.

In May 1990, the Aston Martin returned to the United Kingdom under the ownership of AMOC member Mr. Hugh Clarke-Williams, who commissioned a cosmetic restoration back to the original Caribbean Pearl body color, plus a cylinder head rebuild and other work. The re-trim in Parchment leather was entrusted to Connolly at their Wimbledon headquarters.

In 2001, the DB4 was sold at auction to a classic car dealer before being acquired by a private owner in 2003. In 2022, the DB4 returned to Newport Pagnell where it was thoroughly assessed by Aston Martin's Heritage Workshop and it was noted that the engine number and gearbox number both match the guarantee form.

In 2023, the car entered the care of its current owner.

By Daniel Vaughan | Sep 2024