Lot 084: Aston Martin DB6 Automatic

The ultimate development of David Brown's 'gentleman's express' concept of a GT car, the Aston Martin DB6 was launched at the 1965 Motor Show. From the front it was almost identical to the outgoing DB5 but in fact it was very slightly longer and higher to give improved room in the cockpit and provide greater stability at speed. The most obvious distinguishing feature is the Kamm tail, an aerodynamic aid that reputedly halved the lift that affected the rear of the DB4 and DB5 at high speeds. The hand-finished aluminium panels were also now attached to a conventional steel chassis, rather than using the complex Superleggera frame of old. Mechanically it was little changed and employed all-round coli-sprung suspension, four-wheel disc brakes and precise rack-and-pinion steering. The engine was the same fabulous Tadek Marek-designed four-litre straight-six, which developed 282bhp and 280lb/ft of torque  sufficient to propel the car to 60mph in just six seconds on its way to a top speed of 148mph. Borg-Warner automatic transmission was offered alongside the standard ZF five-speed gearbox, and for the first time there was optional power-assisted steering. 'The DB6 with its longer wheelbase and better headroom makes an Aston Martin available to the far wider four-seater market, and the design is in every way superior to the previous model,' wrote Motor magazine. 'A purist might have though that the longer wheelbase would affect the near-perfect balance of the DB5, but if anything the DB6 is better.' In all, just 1,567 DB6 models were sold before production came to an end in 1970  all are highly sought after today. First registered in March 1968, this automatic model has had just three owners from new, the current vendor having owned it since 1987. Originally painted Goodwood Green, the car was first owned by a Basil Mardle. In 1976 it was acquired by a Luton milliner called WP Wright, who had it repainted in his own special colour of Florida Green to match the other cars in his collection. The non-standard chrome side strips are thought to have been added at the same time. Throughout the current owner's 22-year tenure, the car has covered just 10,000 miles and the 64,000 miles now showing on the clock is believed to be the genuine distance covered from new. During this time the car has always been maintained by Spencer Lane-Jones Ltd and there are eight bills recording various servicing and maintenance jobs carried out there, totalling over �16,000. Apart from the replacement of both sills in 1996 and a comprehensive overhaul of the cylinder head in 1989, the car is said to be very original and to be in lovely condition throughout with a nicely patinated tan leather interior and the desirable factory option of power steering. To be sold with a year's MOT and tax, this is a lovely old car with very few owners that has clearly led a very sheltered life to date.