Aston Martin DB4 & DB4 Convertible
- Production Dates: October 1958 – June 1963
Tadek Marek’s new 3.7 litre, six-cylinder twin overhead camshaft, all alloy engine first ran in 1956 and was raced in the DBR2 in 1957.
Work on the DB4 started in 1956, at the same time as the DB Mark III. The key people involved in the development of the DB4 were general manager John Wyer, chassis designer Harold Beach, and engine designer Tadek Marek. Every major component in the DB4 was new. The four-seater body was design by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, using their ‘Superleggera’ system by which alloy panels are fixed to a tubular frame built onto the very strong platform chassis.
The entirely new car was shown at the London Motor show in 1958, sharing a stand with the DB Mark III which was to continue in production for almost a year. The DB4 was the first production car to capable of 0-100-0 mph in under 30 sec. claiming to reach the 100 mph mark in 21 seconds. A very impressive car that put Aston Martin back in competition with other Mediterranean sports car manufacturers.
A four-seater convertible was announced at the London Motor Show in 1961.
By the time that the DB4 ended it’s production run, there were five distinct series.
Specification
- Price New: £ 3,976 (Saloon), £ 4,194 (Convertible)
- Engine: all dohc I-6, 3670 cc, 240 bhp @ 5500 rpm, 240 lbs-ft @4250 rpm; Vantage: 266 bhp @5750 rpm
- Transmission: 4-speed manual with optional overdrive or optional Borg-Warner 3-speed automatic
- Suspension:
Front: upper-and-lower A-arms, coil springs, anti-roll bar
Rear: live axle, Watt linkage, trailing links, coil springs - Brakes: Servo assisted front/rear discs
- Length: 14’9″
- Width: 5’6″
- Height: 4’4″
- Wheelbase: 8’4″
- Weight: 1308kg
- Top Speed: 140 mph
- 0-60 mph: 9 sec.
Aston Martin started work on the DB4 in 1956, at the same time as the DB Mark III. The key people involved in the development of the DB4 were General Manager John Wyer, Chassis Designer Harold Beach, and Engine Designer Tadek Marek. Every major component in the DB4 was new.
The four-seater body was designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, using their ‘Superleggera’ construction method in which aluminium panels are fixed to a tubular frame built onto a substantial platform chassis.
The new car was shown at the London Motor show in 1958, sharing a stand with the DB Mark III which was to continue in production for almost a year. The DB4 was the first production car capable of 0-100-0 mph in under 30 sec, claiming to reach the 100 mph mark in 21 seconds. The iconic DB4 heralded a new era for Aston Martin and put the company back in competition with other high performance sports car manufacturers.
A DB4 convertible was announced at the London Motor Show in 1961. Throughout its production life the DB4 range was gradually developed, adding a GT version and some significant model year changes (often referred to as series 2, 3, 4 and 5) before finally being replaced by the DB5.
