Aston Martin DB4

Aston Martin DB4 at a glance

The DB4 is part of the DB line of Aston Martin grand tourers named after David Brown; all models are in the Aston Martin catalogue. Its predecessors are covered in our articles on the DB2/4 Touring Spyder and the DB3S.

History and development

The letters DB stand for Sir David Brown, who built up the company from 1947. The DB4 was a clean break. It was not developed from the DB Mark III it replaced, and it used a new body, a new chassis and a new engine. It was also the first Aston Martin assembled at the Newport Pagnell works in Buckinghamshire.

The car was unveiled at the London Motor Show in 1958 and immediately drew attention for its looks. Production ran in five series until 1963. Alongside the standard saloon, Aston Martin added the lightweight DB4 GT in September 1959, the Vantage engine and a convertible in 1961. The DB4's design also became the basis for the DB4 GT Zagato and for the four-door Lagonda Rapide.

When The Motor magazine tested a DB4 in 1960, it recorded a top speed of 224 km/h and fuel consumption of 16.0 l/100 km.

Design: Touring Superleggera body

The body was designed by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring; the design is credited to Federico Formenti. Touring also supplied its lightweight Superleggera ("super light") construction, in which the body is built on a framework of small tubes.

The DB4 was offered as a 2+2 coupé with small rear seats; the GT was usually a two-seater.

Engine and chassis

The engine was designed by Tadek Marek, a Polish-born engineer and former racing driver, and developed from the earlier Lagonda straight-six. It is a 3,670 cc inline six with twin overhead camshafts, and both the cylinder block and the head are cast in R.R.50 aluminium alloy. With two SU carburettors it produces 179 kW (240 bhp) at 5,000 rpm and 325 Nm (240 lb-ft) at 4,200 rpm. Early cars had a tendency to overheat.

The front suspension is independent, with ball-jointed wishbones and coil springs, and the steering uses a rack and pinion. At the rear, a live axle with coil springs is located by a Watt's linkage. All four wheels have servo-assisted disc brakes; the early 292 mm Dunlop discs were later replaced by Girling units. Three final-drive ratios were offered: 3.54:1 as standard in Britain and Europe, 3.77:1 usually for the United States and 3.31:1 as an option for a higher top speed.

Specifications and production timeline

Series I to V, Vantage and convertible

Aston Martin built the DB4 in five series, each with small changes:

• Series II added frames around the side windows.
• Series III received tail lights made of three small lamps on a chrome plate instead of single-piece units.
• Series IV replaced the egg-crate grille with a barred grille.
• Series V (from September 1962) had recessed tail lights, a taller and longer body for more interior space, smaller wheels to keep the overall height the same and the more aerodynamic nose of the Vantage and GT.

DB4 Vantage. Introduced with the Series IV in 1961, the Vantage engine had three SU carburettors and special cylinder heads for 198 kW (266 bhp). Most Vantages also had the GT's faired-in headlights. 136 saloons and 32 convertibles were built with this engine. In addition, 14 standard-bodied DB4s were fitted with the GT engine and are often called "Vantage GT".

Convertible. From October 1961 Aston Martin offered a convertible with lines similar to the saloon; a factory hard-top was available but is extremely rare. 70 convertibles were built - 30 Series IV and 40 Series V - and 32 of them had the Vantage engine. The standard car reached about 219 km/h.

DB4 GT and DB4 GT Zagato

The DB4 GT appeared in September 1959 as a lighter, faster version. It has faired-in headlights, a thinner aluminium skin and a shorter wheelbase, so many cars have no rear seats. The engine - 3,670 or 3,750 cc - gained two spark plugs per cylinder, two distributors, three twin-choke Weber carburettors and a 9.0:1 compression ratio, for 225 kW (302 bhp). The DB4 GT could reach 246 km/h, and Wikipedia describes it as the fastest road-legal production car of its time. 75 were built.

Nineteen DB4 GTs were rebodied by Zagato in Italy. The DB4 GT Zagato has a plain oval grille, Borrani wire wheels and a rounded tail without the GT's small fins. Bertone also built a single car on the GT chassis, known as the Bertone Jet.

Continuation cars

In 2016 Aston Martin announced 25 new DB4 GTs, built to the specification of the 1959 lightweight cars and intended for track use only. They were built at Newport Pagnell, the original home of the DB4, with deliveries expected from late 2017.

Legacy

The DB4 changed Aston Martin. It brought the Touring Superleggera body, the Marek straight-six and production at Newport Pagnell, and its design was the basis for the DB4 GT Zagato and the Lagonda Rapide saloon. More than half a century later, Aston Martin chose the DB4 GT for its first continuation series. The wider story is in our history of Aston Martin.

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