1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series V

Aston Martin DB4 Series V

Fraser Martin
19 June 2009

It's a brave man who pilots an old race car amongst the modern stuff on a Dubai Autodrome track evening, but that's just what the owner of this delightful '63 Aston loves to do. And on the track is just where this DB4 Series V belongs, since it has been a race car most of its life, chalking up championship upon championship for most of its 45 years.

Bought two years ago through Mike Abbas in the UK, who shipped the car to Dubai as part of his classic-finder service, the previous owner had simply become a too elderly to continue racing the car. Despite tours in Europe as well as on the Classic Racing circuits in UK, which included seven wins and four second places to take the Chapman Warren Championship outright in 1992, the pairing had to be split. Step forward then, Garry McColl, to keep the old warhorse in fine fettle for a few years yet.

The Aston Martin DB4 was, to all intents and purposes, Britain's first attempt at a real Grand Tourer, and was introduced at the Earl's Court London Motor Show in 1958. With Tadek Marek's new, twin overhead camshaft, all aluminium engine and bodywork by Touring of Milan, the DB4 quickly established a reputation for reliability and competitiveness despite its relative bulk compared to the contemporary Ferraris. Building on a strong racing heritage, the lightweight 'Superleggera' cars were good for 225kph and would accelerate from rest to 100kph in a shade under 8.5 seconds. This car, one of the last in the five year series, pushes out 266bhp and has the Series V body, including the faired-in headlamps, which gives an extra 90mm of legroom and additional height at the roofline, making it one of the most desirable of the DB4s.

Featuring a four-speed gearbox and coil spring suspension all round, the Aston handles tidily even on the 6J rims and Dunlop R Sport tyres – narrow by modern standards but correct for the period. The sound from the straight six is deep-throated and has wonderful resonance on the over-run – a real engine in my view, not like the screamers of today at all!

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Gaurav Dhar says

Re: 1963 Aston Martin DB4 Series V
Fantastic car, fantastic article. Much has been said about this wonderous beast as it has turned up to events, many an ignorant comment with very little appreciation for owners who bring out their rolling art to share with us all. Bravo. Look forward to hearing more and hopefully meeting Mike Abbas in person, I am sure we have a lot to talk about. The owner is a true gent and then some - look forward to reading more when you have it. Best, Gaurav Dhar Reply

23 July 2009

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