Background

The first Aston Martin DBS V8 rolled off the Newport Pagnell production line on 19th September 1969. For Tadek Marek it was the public debut for his new engine and the car received a rapturous welcome from the public.

The engine used the same light aluminium alloy construction as the old straight six and used a similar design for the valve gear employing two chain driven overhead camshafts per cylinder bank and two valves per cylinder. The 8 wet liner cylinders were in a V formation set at 90 degrees with fuel and air were supplied via a Bosch mechanical fuel injection system with the injector pump in the middle of the cylinder vee and eight separate throttle butterflies mounted outboard of each induction port. The engine had five main bearings and the cooling system was with thermostat, water pump and viscous-coupling fan.

Putting this newly developed engine into the body that had been created for it gave Aston Martin a car that carried four people in luxury, weighed well over one and a half tons, yet could accelerate from 0 - 60 mph in less than 6 seconds and had a top speed of 160 mph. Every aspect of the car needed superlatives for its description. With that weight and speed, the Girling brakes had to produce substantial stopping power 1 inches thick front and rear, they were ventilated and had two independent hydraulic circuits to provide pressure to front and rear and the rear brakes had separate callipers for the handbrake. Unusually, Aston Martin made standard the fitment of specially made 15 inch alloy wheels with 7 inch rims.

Testing the car, a contemporary road test by Autocar noted the flexibility of the new V8 engine at the bottom end of its wide range. They noted that the torque curve was surprisingly flat noting that in fifth gear, the 20 mile per hour increments from 30 mph to 110 mph each took around 4 seconds less than the straight six it had tested the year before. They also noted that the clutch, having to cope with all the extra torque, was heavier than the six cylinder they measured that it needed 50 pounds of force to depress the pedal. Handling and grip had been improved on the DBS with the de Dion rear axle in the DBS V8.

Vehicle History

The previous owner of this wonderful car put together a comprehensive history file that starts with a copy of the original build sheet and runs chronologically through its recorded keepers, its service, its maintenance and finally its comprehensive restoration.

The build sheet copy notes that the car was originally supplied through the Aston Martin agent, Arnold G Wilson, to Clement Quirk Ltd in Batley, Yorkshire. Reflecting the attention to detail of the person who put the history together and supervised the restoration of the car, the second leaf of the file has a recent photograph of the delivery address in Yorkshire- truly a full ancestry check!

The car was delivered with the current registration number but with an external colour of Platinum. The first change of keeper was noted on a copy of the old style log book when the car was sold to Linecross Plastics of Oakham in Leicestershire and the car stayed in Oakham with its next owner, Jonathan Cheetham 1976 and a change of registration to HOF 704 L. The county remained the same, but the town changed to Knossington for the next change of keeper to Christopher Holyoak in February 1981.

In an exchange of emails during the car's restoration in 2006, Chris put a PS on his note "When I look back all those years ago, it was a smokin' motor, and I don't do scared!! this is made quite clear as there was a repair necessary to the exhaust, steering and valances when car left road and landed in a field when overtaking a Ford RS." Chris Holyoak sold the car to Stephen Morris in August 1984 and the first signs of restoration are evident in his period of ownership.

Then on 9th September 2005, the car changed ownership, finally, county, to go to a Mr Franks in Lincolnshire. It is Mr Franks that we have to thank for the meticulous record of this car's history, but more so, his equally meticulous and thorough approach to the comprehensive rebuild and restoration of what is probably the finest DBSV8 to come to the market in recent years.

That rebuild takes shape in the history file with invoices together with a thorough photographic record and then, as part of Mr Franks' aim of a true restoration, the start of his journey to regain the original registration number for the car is marked by a note of acknowledgement, dated 30th January 2006, from Neil Murray from the AMOC Archive. In his note, Mr Murray notes that he has forwarded the application for the transfer together with the relevant documentation to the DVLA together with the recommendation of the AMOC that such a transfer should take place. Acceptance of the reversion to the old number came through in March of 2006.

Summary

The 'four headlight' DBS has become highly valued and evocative of the seventies. With its finely researched history and a restoration carried out by specialists to the very highest of standards, this car sets a new bench mark for this model.

It is, without doubt, the finest possible example of this modern Aston Martin classic and would make a wonderful acquisition for an enthusiast or a collector.