Description
1966 Aston Martin DB6 saloon
• Matching numbers and in original colour combination.
• ZF 5-speed manual.
• Silver Birch with black leather interior.
• Previous extensive two-year restoration.
• Many sympathetic upgrades for modern driving.
• Current owner since 2015.
• Large file of documents and photos dating back to the mid-eighties.
• Although MOT exempt, a 12 month MOT certificate will accompany the car upon sale.
This DB6 was completed on the 18th of February, 1966. The car left the Newport Pagnell factory in Silver Birch with black leather interior, the options chosen at the time were chrome road wheels, heated rear window, three eared hub caps and powered aerial. The car was dispatched to its first owner, Mr Creighton, in Essex, before moving over to the States in 1970.
Cherished for many years by an Orthopaedic surgeon in Long Island, New York, the DB6 was then passed on to his neighbour and friend, another surgeon, in 1988.
In 1991, the car was then shipped across the Atlantic to Cremona in Italy, by its new keeper. The DB6 spent twenty years there, with the owner ultimately investing massively in a complete restoration of the car by well-known classic specialists. The works - that started in 2006, lasting for several years - transformed the car.
In 2011, the Aston Martin was sold to a gentleman in London - thus returning it to the UK after some forty years away. After owning it for a relatively short time, an offer of a straight swap of his striking DB6 for two classics: a Triumph TR4 plus a Jaguar XK150 was too much of a temptation and so it was that the car moved on to its new custodian, who owned it until 2015.
Always preferring the early DB6s with their more subtle lines over the Mk II models, I eventually found this beautiful example and had it inspected before completing the purchase in 2015. I have continued to refine the car over the years; amongst many things the electrics have been upgraded to negative earth, heat and sound proofing inserted, new wool Wilton carpets installed and the seats have been faithfully refurbished along with new chromed belts and correct headrests.
The exterior of the car, despite it being some 15 years since the re-paint is very nice. There are the odd very small stone-chips but none that extend beyond the top coat. The aluminium bodywork remains curvy and smooth in all the right places as it should be, with no visible anomalies and the original glass windows show off their slightly green tint in the sun just as a they did in the 1960s. A very minor dimple in one of the quarter bumpers is the only blemish in the otherwise super fresh and bright chrome work.
Within the car, it looks and feels just as a 1966 DB6 should: the supple leather seats are supportive and firm and the Wilton carpets are perfect with no tears nor any wear. The gauges work perfectly; the speedometer readings vary somewhat - I am told that greasing or replacing the cable would resolve this. The DB5/ early DB6 specification black perspex sun visors are the best in my opinion, and are very cool.
The original Tadek Marek-designed DOHC Triple S. U. straight-six engine makes a great sound and always starts without issue whether cold or hot. It has great torque and does not burn excessive oil. The drive is transmitted to the rear wheels via the ZF 5-speed manual gearbox – which I find takes a couple of miles of driving to get nicely warmed up. The brakes are reassuring and good.
Opening the door is always accompanied by the classic oil-petrol-leather smell that always accompanies up-market vintage cars. The varnished wooden steering wheel, various Smiths gauges and dials and that straight-six rumbling quietly under the bonnet are addictive. With it being my first classic car, I found that driving such a sporty 1960s GT at first seemed quite involved – the steering, pedals and gears can at first feel pretty agricultural: David Brown did, after all, start off his engineering days making gearboxes, machine tools, and tractors. After a short while I grew to appreciate the handling of these cars and also their rugged simplicity: I can recognise everything under the bonnet and for longer trips always throw a few spares in the boot in case of emergency. Not that I’ve never had to use them - the car has always been extremely reliable and keeping up with modern traffic - whether in town or on the big roads has never been an issue. Sadly, it really is a limit on space that leads me to sell my DB6.
Exhibited and driven over the past ten years in various locations including at the London New Year’s Day Parade, Goodwood, many club events and group tours within both the UK and Europe, where it has always performed faultlessly - in all conditions - this DB6 is well known within the club and beyond.
Note that some of the photographs show the original chrome wheels and bumpers removed from the car; they will be fitted back onto the car before sale along with four brand new 3-eared chrome spinners as per the original specification.
The car is offered with a UK V5C Registration Document, Heritage Certificates, original Lake & Elliot ‘Millennium’ jack, a COBRA remote alarm/ immobiliser, various spares and a large history file with abundant documents and photographs showing the many stages of the car’s life dating back from the 1980s to the present.
