Tag Archives: DB4

Sherborne Details – Classics At The Castle

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Last weeks Classics at the Castle threw up plenty of details and here is a small selection I managed to capture.

De Dion Bouton 10hp, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

It looks like this De Dion Bouton has been around for sometime it was offered for auction around 8 years ago it is thought to be a 10hp model from 1910, suitable for a DIY enthusiast with an aptitude for woodwork, as the saying goes.

Aston Martin DB4, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Looking pretty in light blue was this 1958 Aston Martin DB4 powered by a 6 cylinder 3670 cc / 223 cui motor designed by Tadek Marek.

Porsche 911R R, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

The most obvious give away that this Porsche 911R was a replica of the car Gérard Larrousse & Maurice Gélin won the 1969 Tour de France with was that it is a right hand drive model, apart from that it was convincing in many details including the lightened filler cap.

Sunbeam 16/20 Cabriolet, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Cool brass fittings for cockpit ventilation circa 1914 on a Sunbeam 16/20 Cabriolet.

Mazda MX5 BBR, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

Not sure how distracting speakers built in to the headrest of a 1991 Le Mans Special edition Mazda MX5 BBR Turbo would be, but they were dropped from later models.

Lamborghini Aventador, Classics at the Castle, Sherborne

With a zero to 100 km/h time of just 2.9 seconds tail lights are all one is likely to see of a 2012 Lamborghini Aventor.

Thanks for joining me on this “Sherborne Details” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me again tomorrow for some Chrome, Stripes and a Sheriffs Car. Don’t forget to come back now !

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To Finish First – Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato #0180/L

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Heading the entry list of the 1961 Le Mans 24 Hour race was the 4 litre / 244 cui GT class made up of three entries all of which were privately entered Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato’s including the left hand drive chassis #0180/L entered and driven by Jean Kerguen and Jacques Dewes, the latter appears to have also been known by the pseudonym “Franc” or “J Franc”.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours d'Elegance

The other two DB4 GT Zagato’s were the lightweight right hand models of the Essex Racing Stable best known by their registration numbers ‘1 VEV’ driven by Jack Fairman and Bernard Consten and ‘2 VEV’ driven by Australians Lex Davison and Bob Stillwell.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours d'Elegance

During the 1961 Le Mans Test weekend Jean recorded 9th fastest time driving #0180/L, but during qualification for the race Jean and Jacques could only manage 13th fastest time, right behind ‘2 VEV’ and two spots ahead of ‘1 VEV’.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours d'Elegance

During the race the Essex Racing Stable Zagato‘s ‘1 VEV’ and ‘2 VEV’ retired early on laps 22 and 25 respectively both with blown head gaskets. #0180/L recorded 286 laps enough to be classified 9th overall and class winners, had it not retired in the final hour with a broken starter motor.

Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Hillsbrough Concours d'Elegance

#0180/L is known to have made at least three further race appearances with Jean recording a best 4th place finish driving the car in the 1961 Coppa Inter-Europa run at Monza.

Gwen and Tom Price from Larkspur CA were the owners of #0180/L when Geoffrey Horton took these photo’s of it at Hillsborough Concours d’Elegance last year.

My thanks to Geoffrey for sharing his photo’s and to you for joining me on this “To Finish First” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres”, I hope you will join me for Maserati Monday tomorrow when I’ll be looking at a 1962 Le Mans competitor. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Longer Taller – Aston Martin DB4 Series V

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The Aston Martin DB4 launched in 1958 was an all new car that would be updated and modified through the DB5 and DB6 models built up until 1971.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

The all aluminium six cylinder Tadek Marek designed motor featured twin overhead cams and produced 240hp. Enough to propel the car from rest to 60 mph in 9.3 seconds and on to a top speed of 139 mph. DB4’s were fitted with servo assisted disc brakes.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

The superleggera body was designed by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan and could be ordered with the headlights faired in.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

DB4’s were built in five distinct series, the model seen here at Brooklands Double Twelve meeting last year is a 1963 Series V, first seen in 1962, which is distinguished by having a longer and taller body on smaller diameter wheels than the first four DB4 series.

Aston Martin DB4, Brooklands, Double Twelve

In all 1,110 DB4’s were built with 2+2 coupé, 2 seat Coupé or 2+2 drophead bodies, additionally 75 DBGT’s were built on a shorter wheel base shared with 19 DB4GT Zagato’s and one DB4GT with bodywork by Bertone known as the Bertone Jet.

Thanks for joining me on this “Longer Taller” edition of “Gettin’ a li’l psycho on tyres” I hope you will join me again tomorrow when I’ll be looking at an Aston Martin DB5 Convertible. Don’t forget to come back now !

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Superleggera ! A Q car to leave Mr Bond eating dust – Aston Martin DB4 GT

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Anybody who thinks of them selves as any kind of a car enthusiast will have to admit a visit to a VSCC meeting at Prescott is worth it just to see the mouth watering vehicles in the car park.

The vehicle above is a case in point. When I first saw it I thought it was a DB5 or DB6 those faired in lights were a bit of a give away… but boy was I ever wrong ! The clue as to the identity of this vehicle is the ‘egg box grill’ which predates the horizontal bars of the grill of a DB5 or DB6, making this model a DB4 of series 3 or earlier.

The red and white badge in the centre of the grill indicates that the owner is a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists.

The car bears the legendary Superleggera badge on the side of the bonnet indicating it is built using the light weight tubeframe duraluminium construction pioneered and licensed by Carrozeria Touring of Milan.

At 5 inches shorter than the 1110 regular DB4’s this car is one of only 75 DB4 GT’s sharing the same short wheel base chassis as the 20 original DB4 GT Zagato’s (plus 4 Sanction II’s and 2 Sanction III’s). The DB4 GT also has thinner body panels than the standard DB4 and an upgraded 302 hp 3750 cc / 228 cui in line 6 cylinder engine distinguishable by a twin spark plug head. It was capable of 153 mph (8 miles and hour faster than Mr Bonds DB5) and 0 – 60 in just 6.1 secs, not bad for 1959 !

The final give away that this model is a DB4 GT are the clearly visible bulky racing fuel filler caps. If like me you like your performance vehicles to be slightly understated, relative to say the DB4 GT Zagato then you’ll absolutely love this car.

Thanks for dropping by, don’t forget to come back now !

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