Is it completely wrong to call the Aston DB6 Vantage a muscle car? In a way, it isn’t: these are refined, handcrafted 6-cyl. machines that cost three or four times the price of a new Mustang at the time. On the other hand, if you call it a large, brawny coupé with a big engine (for Europe, that is) delivering a massive amount of cavalry to the rear wheels, possibly via an automatic gearbox, the DB6 would kind of fit the muscle car spec sheet, if there were one.
The ’60s was a golden decade for many carmakers, but for Aston Martin it was all the way up to platinum. They entered it, haloed by a 1-2 Le Mans win in 1959, with the DB4, a superb design partially improved by its successor, the DB5, thanks to glass-covered headlights (premiered on the rare DB4 GT) and the engine growing to a full 4-litres. The DB5 also became an instant film star thanks to Goldfinger – a shrewd move by David Brown.
Then came the DB6 that we are looking into today, featuring a slightly larger body but endowed with improved aerodynamics. Finally, the decade was bookended by the DBS, a completely restyled car with a new suspension to carry the marque into the ‘70s and the V8 era. The only misstep made by Newport Pagnell in the ‘60s was the 1961-64 Lagonda Rapide, which was not strictly speaking an Aston Martin.
The DB4/5/6 was essentially the same car improved over three series. From a purely aesthetic point of view, it’s fair to say that the DB6’s Kamm tail is the least appealing of the bunch, but it did solve the DB5’s twitchy handling at high speeds. And these cars could reach 150mph (240kph), so a little help from a rear spoiler was certinaly welcome.
While they were at it, Aston Martin also modified the cabin quite extensively. The roofline was raised, especially at the back to give the backseat passengers a semblance of headroom. The wheelbase was stretched by three inches to also improve living quarters back there, turning the Aston into a (tight) four-seater instead of a 2+2.
Up front, the only modification (aside from split bumpers) was the addition of a bit more grill area under the license plate housing. This was done to improve oil and A/C cooling, the latter being increasingly demanded by the overseas clientele. Quarterlights were added to the front windows for folks who preferred their air un-refrigerated.
The failure of the Lagonda Rapide was largely to do with its rear suspension, a De Dion setup that was not properly calibrated for a high-performance car. Because it caused a lot of headaches, the Aston Martin range were spared that innovation until all the bugs were comprehensively ironed out.
By the time the DB6 was launched in late 1965, the Rapide was out of production but the ironing out process was apparently not yet finalized, or deemed uneconomical, depending on who you ask. Unwilling to risk the marque’s hard-won reputation, the DB6 prudently carried on with its predecessor’s reliable coil-sprung live axle. The De Dion was only deemed ready for prime-time when the DBS came out in the autumn of 1967.
Our DB6 here is of the famous Vantage variety – the sportier model. In standard trim, the DB6’s 3995cc DOHC straight-6 with three SU carbs gave out 282hp (some sources say 286); the Vantage option provided a triple Weber setup and 325hp. A lot of oomph for a lot of money.
Transmission-wise, the default choice was a ZF 5-speed, as fitted in this car, but a Borg-Warner 3-speed auto was available at no extra cost. The lack of wood veneer in these cars, as well as the impressive battery of gauges set within a binnacle shaped like an Aston grille makes for a sportier atmosphere than the V8 cars of the ’70s.
Aston Martin famously used the Superleggera method for their car bodies in the ‘60s. This was licensed by Milanese coachbuilder Touring, who had developed and patented this aeronautics-inspired technique in the late ‘30s, initially for race cars. The idea was to fashion the body structure out of a framework of small diameter steel tubes, then cover this skeleton with aluminium panels.
While the DB6 still bore a tiny Superleggera script on its bonnet, this was more to pay homage to Touring, who had also styled the DB4 and had gone out of business by late 1966, than because Aston still had to pay royalties. Besides which, the DB6 had ditched the steel tube construction in favour of a more straightforward box-section substructure, which ended up being just as light and strong as the Touring method anyway, as well as more cost-effective.
Besides the Vantage, the DB6 was available as the Volante convertible (top left). Prince Charles, as he was styled back then (top right), has kept his Mark II Volante to this day, though it now runs on biofuel. The ultra-rare shooting brakes are also worth mentioning: a grand total of six were made by Harold Radford (bottom left) and three by FLM Panelcraft (bottom right).
The launch of the DBS did not adversely affect DB6 sales – a lot of folks liked the older, more rounded styling. When the V8 engine finally arrived in late 1969, the DB6 simultaneously got a minor refresh, chiefly consisting in DBS seats, wheels and tyres, prompting the addition of flares on the wheel arches. The DB6 was on its way out, though. Production finally stopped in the last weeks of 1970.
Several sources agree that 1788 examples of the Aston DB6 were made in total, which makes it the most-produced pre-V8 model of the marque. About 1500 were Mark 1s (1965-69) like our featured car, a third of which were fitted with the Vantage engine. Volantes were rare (about 200 made) and around fifty late-model cars got a semi-experimental EFI system that apparently was as dodgy as it sounds, so pretty much all those cars have now been retrofitted with triple SU carbs over the years.
The DB6 was arguably the apogee of the David Brown era and of the straight-6 Aston Martins. Although the marque’s troubled past was soon to develop into an equally troubled future, the ‘50s and ‘60s were a period of unparalleled success that has cemented Aston Martin’s place and features within the automotive landscape. No wonder they went back to the “DB” alphanumeric in the ‘90s and have stuck with it ever since.
Not until 1978 did interior timber appear in the Aston Martin V8. Jaguar dropped it from the sports cars after the XK140 and the early-build XJ-S didn’t have it either; nor did the early Mercedes-Benz W116, R107 & C107. With the British it seems to have been just a desire for a more “sporty” look whereas for Mercedes-Benz I assume it was either modernism or they were expecting the US to add it the lengthening list of banned stuff.
I’ve long been fond of Aston Martins, but at least thru the DB 6 era they seemed to be in the semi exotic category, maybe, maaaaaybe a small step above Jaguar, but definitely not up to Ferrari/Lambo territory. Though perhaps in repairs cost. Through at least partly from Connery and the 007 movies, I can’t say I’d kick one out of my garage, but lust level is well down into moderate. Sure, I’d love one, but how much???
Good, really good, but not quite there.
“Is it completely wrong to call the Aston DB6 Vantage a muscle car?”
That’s going to depend on your definition of a “muscle car”; which to me is an “intermediate” body with the “big-car” engine (generally speaking, a “big-block” engine not a “small-block”.) But of course Pontiac had no big-block or small-block in the ’60s.
To me, the Aston is more of a “Pony car” than a “Muscle car”. Overall length (182″) is a bit shorter than a ’67 Camaro, (185″) but the Aston has an 8-inch shorter wheelbase–100″ vs. 108″. Similarly, it’s considerably more narrow–66″ vs. 72.5″ for the ‘maro.
I would not have guessed that the Aston was smaller in every direction except height–53.5″ vs 51.5″.
That Aston is a very small car.
I really liked “Goldfinger” when it came out.
I dug all the DB’s gadgets but thought the Nav in the feds’ T-Bird was unbelieveable.
Now that’s the only gadget we have.
Always great pics of gorgeous very interesting cars.. But I have to ask, are the Japanese only allowed to have car shows while parked at the curb…??? Seems they never have a formal get together.. I must be a spoiled excessive American used to big gatherings of like minded car nuts.. Someone needs to give these poor folks a place to assemble rather than, wow, lets pull over and have a car meet…!!!