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The 'DB4' was a sports car sold by Aston Martin from 1958 through 1963. It was an entirely different car from the DB Mark III it replaced, though the 3.7 L engine was externally visually related to the 2.9 L unit found in that car.
The 3.7 L (3670 cc/223 in³) engine, designed by Tadek Marek, was a dual overhead cam straight-6. It was prone to overheating at first, but the 240 hp (179 kW) produced by the twin-SU carburettor version made buyers forgive this unfortunate trait. Disc brakes were fitted all around, with early Dunlops being replaced by Girlings.
The lightweight ''superleggera'' (tube-frame) body was designed by Carrozzeria Touring in Milan, and its Continental looks caused a sensation on its unveiling at the 1958 London Motor Show. Although the design and construction techniques were Italian, the DB4 was the first Aston to be built at the company's Newport Pagnell works in Buckinghamshire, England.
There were five "series" of DB4s, with the most visible changes being the addition of window frames in Series II and the adoption of a barred (rather than eggcrate) grille in Series IV. The Series V cars of September 1962 have a taller and longer body to provide more interior space, though the diameter of the wheels was reduced to keep the overall height the same. The front of the Series V was updated with a more aerodynamic look that was later carried over to the DB5 cars.
A convertible was introduced in 1962. It featured in-house styling similar to the Touring saloon, and an extremely rare factory hardtop was also available. In total, 70 DB4 convertibles were made from a total DB4 production run of 1110 cars.
Spinoff models included the Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato, Lagonda Rapide 4-door saloon, and replacement DB5.

Contents

DB4 GT

Vantage

Vantage GT

References

DB4 GT

:''See also Aston Martin DB4 GT Zagato''
The 'DB4 GT' was a special lightweight, high-performance version of the DB4. Introduced in September, 1959, the GT's featured enclosed headlights and a thinner aluminium skin for lighter weight. The wheelbase was also reduced in comparison to the standard car, which resulted in many cars not being fitted with rear seats.
The engine, though, was what made the GT special. Available in 3.7 L (3670 cc/223 in³) and 3.8 L (3750 cc/228 in³) versions, the GT's engine had twin sparkplugs per cylinder with two distributors and three twin-choke Weber carburettors. Modifications to the cylinder head brought compression to 9.0:1 and power output was 302 hp (225 kW). Maximum speed for the GT was 153 mph (246 km/h) with a 6.1 second sprint to 60 mph (97 km/h).
75 GTs were built with this body style, in addition to the separate DB4 GT Zagato model. A single car was also styled by Bertone and dubbed the Bertone Jet.

Vantage

With the introduction of the Series IV in 1961, a high-performance 'DB4 Vantage' was also offered. It featured three SU carbs and special cylinder heads, bumping power to 266 hp (198 kW). Most Vantage models also used the enclosed headlights of the DB4 GT as well. In all, there were 136 saloons and 32 convertibles with the Vantage engine.

★ A DB4 Vantage became a prototype DB5 that was in turn later modified to be one of two (the one with the gadgets) DB5s used in the James Bond film "Goldfinger".

Vantage GT

A tiny number of non-GT DB4s used the GT's more-powerful engine. This combination is often called a 'Vantage GT', though not all included the Vantage package and none was technically a GT. Three Series III, five Series IV, and six Series V cars have this unusual combination of body and engine for a total of 14.

References

:1. One Fine Lorry, Mark Ewing, , , Sports Car International, September 1990
:2. Newport Pagnell 6 Cylinder Cars