1969 Aston Martin DBS Vantage

Unveiled in October 1967, the DBS was the successor to the famed Aston Martin DB6, although the two ran concurrently for three years. Although always intended to house the new Tadek Marek-designed V8 engine, the Aston Martin DBS was launched with the 4.0-litre 'six' of the concurrently produced DB6. This twin-cam engine was available in standard or Vantage tune - the latter producing 325bhp at 5,750rpm with triple Webers and reprofiled camshafts.

Styled in-house by William Towns, the beautiful DBS caused quite a stir, Autocar magazine observing: 'Without the aid of an Italian stylist the Newport Pagnell team came up with something as modern, handsome and Italianate as anything from the Turin coachbuilders at that time.' Longer, wider and more luxurious than the DB6, the DBS employed a platform-type chassis with independent suspension all round and offered a near perfect 50:50 weight distribution with better high-speed stability.

In its road test of a DBS Vantage, Motor recorded 141mph with 0-60 and 0-100mph reached in 7.1 and 18.0 seconds respectively. Production of the DBS stretched between September 1967 and April 1972 during which time only 68 right-hand drive Vantage examples were produced, making the DBS 6 Vantage the lowest production Vantage model of all Aston Martins. Continuing Aston's famed 007 connections, the DBS was used by George Lazenby's James Bond in the 1969 film, 'On Her Majesty's Secret Service'.

This matching numbers and fabulously presented DBS 6 Vantage has a brilliantly documented history including 35 years’ worth of MOTs supporting the indicated mileage of circa 78,000 and a summary document of the maintenance and restorative work undertaken confirming that it has been religiously serviced and maintained regardless of mileage. During our vendor's ownership there has been significant expenditure to maintain the cars high-quality including replacing the water pump, radiator and cooling fans at an overall cost of £2,362, a rolling-road engine tune costing £2,345 in August 2022, and a Weber carburettor rebuild costing £3,105 in 2021.

DBS values have always been overshadowed by DB4/5/6 prices; however, many believe this understated little brother is long overdue an increase in both demand and value and the Series 1 Vantage with a manual gearbox is undoubtedly the most desirable iteration. With a confidence inspiring history file and in excellent mechanical and lovely cosmetic condition, this is an excellent example of a rare car.