1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT

The Aston Martin DB4 was launched at the London Motor Show in 1958. It was comprised of a completely new steel platform chassis with disc brakes all around, and a race-developed twin-cam six-cylinder engine, all clothed in an aluminum body designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. The Superleggera body construction employed its own lightweight tubular structure to support the hand-formed aluminum-alloy body panels.

The DB4 was modern, state-of-the-art, and a masterpiece of British engineering combined with Italian styling. Its platform-type chassis had been engineered under the watchful eye of Harold Beech and given an unequal-length wishbones front suspension with a live rear axle located by Watts linkage instead of its predecessor's Panhard rod.

The factory quickly developed a lightweight version suitable for racing; the resulting DB4GT debuting at the 1959 London Motor Show. The model had proven itself in competition earlier that year when the prototype driven by Stirling Moss ('DP/199') won its first race at Silverstone.

Modifications to the DB4 GT included removing 5-inches from the wheelbase and replacing the rear seats with a luggage platform on all but a small number of cars. They had lighter 18-gauge bodywork which helped reduce the overall weight of the car by around 200 lbs.

Powering the DB4GT was a tuned engine equipped with a twin-plug cylinder head and triple Weber 45DCOE carburetors and offering a claimed 302 horsepower. This was a vast increase over the standard car's claimed 240 bhp. Depending on the overall gearing, the DB4 GT had a 153 mph top speed with 0-60 mph taking 6.1 seconds.

Exterior modifications, such as the faired-in headlamps with Perspex covers (a feature later found on the DB5 and DB6) helped distinguish the DB4GT from its DB4 sibling. The rear screen and quarter windows were Perspex on many examples. The bumper over-riders were removed and the wind-down windows were frame-less within the doors. Twin Monza quick-release competition fuel fillers were added atop the rear wings, leading to a large-capacity fuel tank mounted flat in the trunk. GT models rode on lightweight Borrani 42-spoke wire wheels with alloy rims and three-ear 'knock-offs.' The interior of the GT's also received an oil temperature gauge as part of the standard complement.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Touring
Chassis number: DB4GT/0168/L
Engine number: 370/0168/GT

1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT Factory Lightweight has chassis number DB4GT0168L and is one of two factory lightweight DB4 GTs with left hand drive. It was ordered by Rex Woodgate of Aston Martin's North American operations. He was a man of many talents, including in business and as a racing team manager. He had this car entered in the 1961 Sebring 12 Hours Endurance Race. It was the third car in his DB4 GT racing team and was completed just a short time prior to the race. It left the factory with 11 days to make the start of the race. It was sent as airfreight cargo and when it reached US soil, it went through a lengthy inspection process that delayed its arrival to the track. Ultimately, the car would never race at Sebring in 1961, as it was not released from customs until the Monday after the race.

The car was then sold through Inskip's in New York as a Grand Tourer, which shielded it from the abuses of racing and competition. From there the car would pass through several owners throughout the years. By 1988 it had traveled 54,945 and the decision was made to perform a total restoration. The process was started, but never fully completed as the owner passed away. All that had been completed to this point was a body paint finished in its original color of Peony Red. The chassis and suspension had been restored by the powertrain was not yet installed. In 2001 through 2002 the entire car was restored with a few performance, reliability, and safety features incorporated. After the restoration it was brought to Lime Rock Park where it achieved a lap record for 'standard DB4 GTs' at 1:08. The odometer reads just 56,547, having traveled less than 2,000 miles since the restoration, it was brought to the 2007 Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction presented by RM Auctions, where it had an estimated value of $1,650,000 - $1,850,000. The estimates proved accurate as the lot was sold for $1,650,000 including buyer's premium.

The car was purchased at auction by Paul Andrews and enjoyed by his family for fourteen years on such events as the Colorado Grand and the Copperstate 1000. It returned to auction in 2021 where it was sold for $3,855,000 inclusive of the buyer's premium.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Touring

This Aston Martin DB4 is a GT Zagato Replica 'Continuation Car.' It used a donor DB4 which was then shorted five inches to the correct 93-inch wheelbase, and a new Zagato body using the original buck, was hand formed in alloy. The steering, suspension and braking systems were rebuilt and installed by the Derby, England based firm of Aston Engineering.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Touring
Chassis number: DP199/1
Engine number: 370/0184/GT

This particular example the prototype car, chassis number DP199/1 (there was never a /2). It was first used in March of 1959 and then taken to LeMans for the annual test on April 26 of 1959 in preparation of the 24-hour race that June. During the test session, Hubert Patthey drove the car to a best time of 4 minutes and 38 seconds.

Four months before its official launch, DB199 made its first public showing at Silverstone. Stirling Moss and Reg Parnell drove the car in a 12-lap GT race at the May 2nd International Trophy meeting. Moss qualified the car on pole position and went on to win the race, selling a lap record along the way.

Perhaps due to nervousness about using the untested GT engine, the car ran with a single plug engine (most likely a 3.7-liter DBR2 engine) at the LeMans test session and Silverstone.

In June of that year DB199 was entered at LeMans under the banner of 'Ecurie Trois Chevrons' and driven by Aston's Swiss distributor Hubert Patthey with co-driver Renaud Calderari. During this race, it was powered by a 3.0-liter engine, the same type as was used in the DBR3 engine that made a one-off appearance a year earlier. The engine number for Le Mans was RDP 5066-2. The records say that it was RDP 5066-1, but the photographic evidence says otherwise, unless engine 2 was only used in practice. This marked the first time the twin-plug head had been used.

After LeMans, the car returned to Feltham, where it was converted into (what would become) road specification and prepared for its public show tour. The single oil cooler scoop was replaced by two smaller scoops that were standard on the first 23 DB4GTs. DB199, then registered 845 XMV, was shown in London in October of 1959 at the launch of the DB4GT. DB199 would go on to perform press car duties and would serve as a development and test vehicle.

Aston Martin would go on to build 75 DB4GTs plus 20 Zagatos.

Provenance

In June of 1961, DP199 was sold to Hon Gerald Lascelles, the Queen's cousin. Although this was the first DB4GT car built, it was also the 59th DB4GT to be delivered. When it came into the care of Mr. Lascelles, it was with at least the third engine, number 370/0184/GT (the same engine currently in its bay). It was commissioned in July of 1959 and was numbered 184. In April of 1960, Aston Martin switched all DB4GT engine numbering to four digits being prefixed with a zero – hence 0184. Later in 1961, the DB4GT Zagato '0184' appeared with engine number 0184, but Works records show the two separate engines with different block and head numbers.

Mr. Lascelles kept the car at Fort Belvedere. In 1965, it was sold to Mike Salmon and stayed in his care until 1971. It then entered the care of several enthusiasts such as Chris Stewart, John Norrington, David Preece, Anthony Mayman, and Jimmy Wilson.

The current owner acquired the car in 1986. In 1989, Aston Martin was commissioned to restore the car. The work returned the car back to its LeMans 1959 guise but kept the 3.7-liter engine.

After the restoration, the car appeared at the Aston Martin festival at Monterey in 1989 and went on to win its class at Pebble Beach in the same year.

The car was later sold and had two other owners' including Rowan Atkinson, before returning to the current owner, who restored the car in 1989.

by Dan Vaughan

Coupe by Touring
Chassis number: DB4GT/0151/R

Aston Martin factory records show 0151/R was 'made by Experimental Department outside normal sanction' and accordingly was not destined to be a customer road car; rather it was built to go racing. It had a lightweight chassis and was purchased new by John Ogier to form part of his Essex Racing Stable. Over the years there have been several owners in both Europe and the United States and also an extensive racing career driven by Innes Ireland, Jim Clark,Tony Maggs and Roy Salvadori.

Aston Martin unveiled their DB4 at the 1958 Paris Salon. This was a big achievement for the small British manufacturer as it was a totally new car on a completely new steel platform chassis and disc brakes on all four corners. It was powered by an alloy twin-cam 3.7-liter straight-six engine and bodied by Touring of Milan in an elegant fastback aluminum body. This combination was performance-oriented with all the necessary criteria such as the potent engine, lightweight body, excellent stopping power provided by the disc brakes, and finished in an attractive and elegant fastback configuration. It was state-of-the-art at the time, a modern masterpiece of British engineering and Italian styling.

Harold Beech was involved with the engineering of the chassis, including the fitting of an independent front suspension and a live rear axle located by trailing arms and a Watt's linkage. The coachwork was constructed by Aston Martin under license from Touring

At the September 1959 London Motor Show, Aston Martin introduced their competition variant dubbed the DB4 GT. It was based on the race-winning prototype SP199/1. In the very capable hands of Sterling Moss, the GT prototype had won its first outing in May 1959 at Silverstone.

The Aston Martin DB4 GT sat on a shortened wheelbase, made lighter, and given a more powerful engine. The engine was given a higher compression ratio, twin-plug cylinder heads, and triple dual-throat Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. Weight was reduced by 91 kg overall, partly by reducing the wheelbase by around 5 inches. The Standard DB4 produced 240 horsepower while the DB4GT produced 302 BHP making it the most powerful British car of its era. Top speed was achieved at just over 150 mph and zero-to-sixty took a mere 6.1 seconds.

The DB4 and DB4GT were visually distinguishable by the faired in headlamps, a feature that was later made standard on the DB5. The DB4 GT had quick-release 'Monza' fuel fillers on each of the rear wings, bumper overrider deletes, and frameless roll-down windows within the doors. The interior of the DB4 GT was rather luxurious with Connolly hides and Wilton wool carpeting. An oil temperature gauge was added to the array of instrumentation, along with an 8000 RPM tachometer.

The Ferrari SWB 250 Berlinetta was a very dominant and competitive car in FIA racing, but the DB4 GTs were able to mount a strong challenge in 1959 by both the Works team and Jon Ogier's Essex Racing stable. Individuals usually found behind the wheel included Stirling Moss, Jim Clark, Roy Salvadori, and Innes Ireland.

Production of the Aston Martin DB4 GT lasted from 1959 through 1963 with a total of 75 examples produced, plus an additional 19 created by Zagato in various configurations. 45 of the 75 were right-hand drive with the other 30 having left-hand drive. Six of the 75 are known to have full Factory lightweight construction details. These six are further divided into two additional categories. The first group consisting of four examples were originally ordered as 'Build Sheet GTs' meaning they were ordered with this lightweight specification. Two were Right Hand Drive and the other two were Left Hand Drive. The other lightweight group is referred to as 'BESPOKE' or Service Department created GTs. Meaning they were modified to the lightweight specification after the factory had performed the original build.

Thus, most of the DB4 GTs created were suitable for competition or Grand Touring, for road or track.

by Dan Vaughan

The Aston Martin DB4 was first introduced to the public at the 1958 Paris Salon and powered by a 3.7-liter straight eight and clothed in an aluminum body. Touring of Milan was tasked with creating the design. The Aston Martin DB4 GT was introduced a year later at the London Motor Show and was based on the race winning prototype SP199/1. 1959 was a great year for Aston martin as they had won the World Sportscar Championship title. The GT prototype inaugural race was in May of 1959 at Silverstone where it finished in first place at the hands of Stirling Moss.

The Aston Martin DB4 GT was lighter, shorter, and more powerful than the base DB4. In an effort to reduce the weight of the vehicle the bodywork was made thinner using 18 gauge alloy. The wheelbase was reduced by 13cm which made the rear seats obsolete. In total, 200 pounds had been shed. Under the graceful hood was the six-cylinder engine modified with twin plug cylinder heads and triple dual-throat Weber 45 DCOE carburetors. Horsepower was raised to over 300, bettering the standard DB4 engine by 60 horsepower, and making it the most powerful British sports car of its era.

Most of the DB4 GT's had Plexiglas rear screen and quarter windows. Disc brakes could be found on all four corners, as could the alloy Boranni wire wheels. The roll-down windows were frameless within the doors. A high-capacity fuel tank could be found in the rear. Quick-release 'Monza' fuel fillers were placed atop of the rear wings. All of this equated to a car that had a top speed over 150 mph and could race from zero-to-sixty in just over 6 seconds. Visually, in comparison to the DB4, the GT has cowled headlights and a very prominent hood scoop.

The interior of the cars were race inspired but still filled with luxurious amenities.

The DB4 GT was produced from 1959 through 1963 with only 75 examples being produced plus another 19 examples bodied by Zagato. 45 were right-hand drive and 30 were left hand drive. The Zagato bodied cars were necessary to keep pace with Ferrari's 250 GT machines. Zagato was legendary in the world or automotive weight reduction and their skills were in high demand. Ercole Spada of Zagato was given the task of performing the necessary modifications. Even after Zagato worked his magic, the Ferrari's proved to competitive for the DB4 GT's. Though the DB4 GT's suffered from oversteer and and low rigidity, its Achilles' heal was the fact that it was born from a road going car.

The final DB4 GT constructed was sent to Bertone who fitted it with a body and had it sent to the 1961 Geneva and Turin Motorshows. It was styled by Giorgietto Giugiaro who was in the infancy of his career. This, the 76th and final DB4 GT produced, was given an attractive steel body.

by Dan Vaughan