If you had to choose one legendary Aston Martin, there’s a good chance you’d go for the DB6. Here we have a much lesser-known Aston in front of us, although it was secretly very close to that DB6.
Several Aston Martin DBS models have appeared over the years, and their role in the model range has not always been the same. Here we see the first DBS, and unlike, for example, the current one, it was not a more powerful version of the regular DB model. This DBS was initially simply intended as the successor to the DB6 but would share the showroom with it for a while. Moreover, later on, another car derived from this DBS appeared that was even more powerful: the DBS V8, which was later renamed V8.
The lack of ‘V8’ in the name immediately indicates that we are dealing with a DBS with the 4.0 six-in-line engine in the nose. The same engine as was already in the DB6. However, the whole idea behind the DBS was that a V8 would fit in it, and thus the DBS V8 outlived this six-cylinder DBS. In terms of appearance, the DBS was a significant change after the DB6. Aston Martin exchanged the classic (and later more timeless) lines for a much more modern angular body. The design came from William Towns, who also designed the even more angular Lagonda.
According to our data, this 1969 DBS only came to the Netherlands over two years ago and is still with the person who started driving it here back then. It is one of only ten DBS’s with a Dutch registration, so AutoWeek forum member Banpei really has a rare spot here. Have you ever come across one?