Tropicana Sep-Oct 2019 #126 The Wellbeing Issue

It’s probably best known as James Bond’s car of choice
but Aston Martin has a rich history beyond the silver
screen. The iconic DB5 first driven by Agent 007
in Goldfinger is far from the only great car Aston
has produced during its more than a hundred years
in the business. And because of the spy movies, no
one would fault you in thinking that the champagne cooler
concealed under the centre armrest was a standard feature in
all Aston Martin vehicles.
Car enthusiasts around the world feel a strong passion
for this British marque and it remains strong, fuelled in
equal parts by 007’s vehicular exploits and the luxury
brand’s heritage. While the DB5 may be the most iconic
model in Aston Martin’s automotive stable thanks to James
Bond, its predecessor the DB4 was the one that cemented
the automaker’s motorsport legacy. Prior to the DB4’s
introduction, Aston Martin engineers were hard at work on
a GT variant that was meant to be unleashed on racetracks.
A prototype, badged as the DB4 GT and driven by British
race car driver Stirling Moss, won the Fordwater Trophy back
in 1960. It was just one of the many racing accomplishments
that Aston Martin had been racking up in that period, with
the most notable being its 24 Hours of Le Mans victory the
year before.
The DB4 GT was then the fastest road legal production
car. Just 75 examples were built between 1959 and 1963,
and many are still around in a testament to Aston Martin’s
exemplary engineering; one will fetch over £3 million on the
open market today. In late 2016, Aston Martin announced
that it was faithfully recreating the DB4 GT with the same
techniques used to build the original, which included
beating the aluminium body by hand and even using the
same component suppliers. But there are modern safety
accoutrements of course, including a roll cage, racing-grade
bucket seats and a fire extinguisher.
Dubbed the DB4 GT Continuation, each car requires
4,500 man hours to build and is a throwback to the days of
yore before electronic aids and slick tyres were introduced,
back when racing was more an art than a science. A 4.2-litre
straight-six sits at the front of the car, mated to a four-speed
manual gearbox. There are neither traction control nor antilock
braking systems here; the driver must count on his own
skills at the steering wheel to tame and unleash the behemoth
at appropriate moments. Aston Martin has built 25 of these
beauties – an ambitious undertaking considering that the car
is only made for the track, yet every single one of these £1.5
million beauties has already been spoken for. Incidentally,
two of them are bound for Singapore, for an order by a
local vintage car collector. Unfortunately, there is still no
champagne cooler.
117 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2019 | TM