1971 Aston Martin DBS V8 Coupe

Description

With the DB6 getting a bit long in the tooth, Aston Martin set about building a much-needed replacement and work on the DBS, as it was known, began in 1966. Styled by William Towns, the new car was a handsome GT, with modern 'coke-bottle' styling that has aged beautifully and still looks fresh today. Although it had been intended from the outset to have a V8 engine designed by Tadek Marek, development soon fell behind schedule and the earliest DBS were instead powered by the venerable straight-six. The DBS featured a De Dion rear end, Girling disc brakes and the option of a ZF five-speed manual or Torqueflite three-speed automatic transmission. It wasn't until April 1970 that deliveries of the first DBS V8 took place and the new engine elevated performance to proper supercar levels - 160 mph was now possible in the right conditions with acceleration to match. The all-alloy engine was a masterpiece, with twin-overhead camshafts per bank, Bosch mechanical fuel injection and a 9:1 compression ratio giving an output of around 375 bhp and plenty of useable torque and remained the mainstay of Aston Martin range for the next three decades. Larger discs helped reign in the additional power while power-assisted steering was another welcome feature. Just 402 were built before the model underwent some minor restyling in 1972 and was rebadged as simply the V8. Of course one simply can't discuss Aston Martin without at least one reference to 007 - as all Bond aficionados know, an early DBS was his preferred mode of transport in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" and, equally famously, Roger Moore drove one in "The Persuaders".