Photo: Coys
Two years after the jaw-dropping DB5 ended production, Aston Martin started making the DBS. Featured in the 1969 James Bond film “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service,” the DBS spawned only 787 examples during its five-year production life.
As you may have figured out by now, the Aston Martin DBS is a more rarefied GT breed than its honorable predecessor - the Aston Martin DB5. Heck, the Gaydon-based luxury sportscar maker even revived the DBS nameplate between 2007 and 2012 for the DB9-based DBS super GT car, which Double-O-Seven used in the "James Bond: Quantum of Solace" movie.
Regarding the William Towns-designed first-gen, what Coys will be auctioning tomorrow, March 10, at the Spring Classics sales event is 1972 Aston Martin DBS chassis DBS/5829/R, the last ever DBS to be made at the Newport Pagnell assembly plant in the UK.
Predating the original Aston Martin V8 lineage, the DBS is powered by a 4-liter DOHC inline-six mated to an automatic transmission supplied by Borg-Warner. When it was brand spanking new, the 280 bhp British grand tourer cost £4,473 and could hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 7.1 seconds. If you kept your foot welded to the floor, the six-cylinder DBS could hit a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h).
Based on an enlarged DB6 platform, De Dion rear suspension and all, this last ever DBS has seen better days. When its was new in September ’72, DBS/5829/R was wearing Dubonnet Rosso paint and, in 1990, it underwent a restoration job. Happily for the next owner, under all that rust and missing trim there are detailed service invoices indicating that the work was undertaken by Aston Martin Lagonda Limited.
With the odometer showing just over 40,000 miles (64,373 kilometers), this is a fairly low-mileage machine, but there’s no hiding the fact that a lot of money and elbow grease have to be put into it to take it back to its former glory, on top of the £25,000 to £40,000 ($60,300) Coys auction estimate.
Editor’s note: my two most favorite things from 1972 are Roxy Music’s self-titled debut album and the Aston Martin DBS. I am well aware that the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, Maserati Merak and the Renault 5 also started production in 1972, but c’mon man! The original DBS is miles more chic and exquisite to behold!
Regarding the William Towns-designed first-gen, what Coys will be auctioning tomorrow, March 10, at the Spring Classics sales event is 1972 Aston Martin DBS chassis DBS/5829/R, the last ever DBS to be made at the Newport Pagnell assembly plant in the UK.
Predating the original Aston Martin V8 lineage, the DBS is powered by a 4-liter DOHC inline-six mated to an automatic transmission supplied by Borg-Warner. When it was brand spanking new, the 280 bhp British grand tourer cost £4,473 and could hit 60 mph (96 km/h) in 7.1 seconds. If you kept your foot welded to the floor, the six-cylinder DBS could hit a top speed of 140 mph (225 km/h).
Based on an enlarged DB6 platform, De Dion rear suspension and all, this last ever DBS has seen better days. When its was new in September ’72, DBS/5829/R was wearing Dubonnet Rosso paint and, in 1990, it underwent a restoration job. Happily for the next owner, under all that rust and missing trim there are detailed service invoices indicating that the work was undertaken by Aston Martin Lagonda Limited.
With the odometer showing just over 40,000 miles (64,373 kilometers), this is a fairly low-mileage machine, but there’s no hiding the fact that a lot of money and elbow grease have to be put into it to take it back to its former glory, on top of the £25,000 to £40,000 ($60,300) Coys auction estimate.
Editor’s note: my two most favorite things from 1972 are Roxy Music’s self-titled debut album and the Aston Martin DBS. I am well aware that the Ferrari 365 GT4 2+2, Maserati Merak and the Renault 5 also started production in 1972, but c’mon man! The original DBS is miles more chic and exquisite to behold!
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