Aston Martin DB4

Start with what the Aston Martin DB4 is: a 2+2 coupé / 2-seat coupé / 2+2 drophead with 4.0&nbsp, built from 1958 to 1963, at the height of the post-war boom. What it meant takes a little longer. The shape is credited to Federico Formenti at Carrozzeria Touring.

How it came about

The Aston Martin DB4 is a grand tourer that was produced by Aston Martin from 1958 until 1963. The "DB" designation came from Sir David Brown, who built up the company from 1947 onwards. Technically the DB4 was not a development of the DB Mark III it replaced, nor did it evolve into the DB5. It had a platform rather than a tubular chassis with a new engine by Tadek Marek. The DB4's design formed the basis for later Aston Martin models, such as the DB4 GT Zagato and the Lagonda Rapide 4-door saloon.

The hardware

The engine is 4.0&nbsp. On the scales it comes to 1308 kg. The layout matters: a front engine drives the rear wheels, the classic proportion — long bonnet, cabin set back — that most people picture when they picture a sports saloon or a grand tourer. The wheelbase is 98 in. These are manufacturer figures carried by Wikipedia and Wikidata, not road-test measurements.

Family and rivals

In the Aston Martin line-up the Aston Martin DB4 has a clear place: it replaced the Aston Martin DB Mark III; it handed the line to the Aston Martin DB5; the factory was Newport Pagnell, England, United Kingdom. The cars a buyer would have weighed it against include the Nissan Skyline, the Fiat 500, the Nissan Patrol. Its Aston Martin stablemates include the Aston Martin Mark II and the Aston Martin V12 Vantage GT3.

Owning one today

There is no federal ownership record for the Aston Martin DB4 — it predates the complaint database or was never sold in the United States — so MotorJury publishes no running-cost figure for it. For a car of this age the price is set by the collector market and the condition of the individual example, not by a formula.