1967 | Aston Martin DB 6

• Very original, sympathetically-restored example
• Presented in original colour of Dubonnet Rosso
• Retains its original and beautifully-patinated black leather upholstery
• Supplied new by Arnold G. Wilson Ltd of Leeds

First registered on 3 April 1967, this Aston Martin DB6 was originally supplied by Arnold Wilson Ltd in Leeds to a Mr Heaton of Heaton Fluids Ltd. He soon put some serious miles on his new grand tourer, with service records showing that it had covered just over 24,000 miles by July 1969. There are Esso Service record sheets attesting that the car was regularly serviced during 1969 all the way until December 1972 having covered 79,400 miles.

By the time the DB6 was put through the MoT test in December 1978, it was showing 89,038 miles. Shortly after that, it was acquired by Harry Hennis, who was based in the north-east of England. After running the Aston for a short period, Hennis parked it in his parents’ garage – and there it stayed for more than 25 years.

In the mid-2000s, Hennis – who was an engineer – brought the DB6 out of storage and started a thorough restoration. He stripped down the car to a bare shell and used various marque specialists as and when required, but didn’t keep many of the receipts because he didn’t want his wife to know how much he’d spent!

The work was completed by 2007 but Hennis couldn’t bring himself to drive the Aston because he knew that, if he did, he wouldn’t be able to sell it. He was reluctantly forced to part with it only because he was retiring to a cottage in Scotland and there was no room to store it.
The DB6 was therefore acquired by the current owner in September that year and trailered back to his home in Hereford. After he had put about 2000 miles on the car, he entrusted it to marque specialist Four Ashes in Stratford-upon-Avon so that an extensive check-over and service could be carried out. The work totalled more than £4000 and included a replacement radiator, reconditioning of the brake servos, and the fitment of electronic ignition.

In 2015, the same owner had the DB6 stripped to bare metal and resprayed in the same shade of Dubonnet Rosso in which chassis number DB6/3004/R had left the Newport Pagnell factory almost 50 years earlier. The Aston retains its original engine (400/3017) and even its original black leather upholstery, which is now beautifully patinated.

More recent work has included the front bumper being rechromed, the left-hand window motor being replaced, and a new headlining being fitted.

Now reluctantly being offered for sale after 15 years and more than 10,000 enjoyable miles, the current owner willing to downsize his collection, this Aston Martin DB6 has had only three owners from new and is a highly original car that has been very well cared for in recent years. Ready to be enjoyed by its next custodian, it is an extremely usable example of this iconic 1960s British GT.

MODEL HISTORY

The DB6 was the ultimate development of a bloodline that began in 1958 with the DB4 and which, for many enthusiasts, still defines the classic Aston Martin. Although it retained the basic Touring styling of the DB4 and DB5, the DB6 featured an extended wheelbase and a higher roofline in order to provide more room in the rear.

It also introduced a redesigned rear end, with a Kamm-style ‘cut off’ and a spoiler that reduced lift and gave the DB6 a link to Aston Martin’s Project 215 racer.

The Tadek Marek-designed 3995cc straight-six engine was carried over from the DB5, in either triple-SU specification or as the triple-Weber Vantage. A Powr-Lok limited-slip differential, chrome wire wheels and automatic transmission were offered as no-cost options.

Beneath the skin, there was rack-and-pinion steering and independent front suspension, with a live rear axle and Watt linkage. Girling disc brakes were fitted all round, and a five-speed manual gearbox was standard fitment.

The DB6 was launched at the 1965 London Motor Show and was offered in both coupé and open-top Volante forms. At just under £5000, it was more expensive than the DB5, but Motor began its road test of a Vantage model by stating that it was ‘superior in every way’ to its predecessor. The magazine recorded a 0-60mph time of 6.1 seconds – Autocar managed 6.5 seconds during its own test – and 100mph came up in only 15 seconds. The maximum speed Motor could achieve was 147mph, slightly short of the figure that Aston Martin claimed.

A Mk2 version was introduced in 1969 – with wider wheels and optional fuel injection – and the model remained in production until late the following year before finally being discontinued.