1972 Aston Martin V8

Aston Martin had always planned that the DBS of 1967 would be powered by its new V8 engine, first seen in 5.0 litre form in the Lola-Aston Martin sports-racing cars. Production problems, however, intervened and the DBS used the 4.0 litre, twin overhead camshaft, straight six of the concurrently produced DB6. It was not until September 1967 that the DBS V8 was finally announced, production commencing the following April. With it's platform chassis and independent suspension - coil spring/wishbone front, de Dion tube rear with Watt linkage and twin radius arms - the fine handling DBS was a perfect home for Tadek Marek's all-alloy V8. Boasting four overhead camshafts and Bosch electronic fuel injection, the 5,340cc V8 produced an impressive 320bhp at 5,000rpm; the resultant 160mph plus performance was nothing short of staggering in 1970. After David Brown sold Aston Martin in February 1972, the DBS V8 was replaced by the Series 2 model, now simply called the Aston Martin V8. Gone were the four headlamps and slatted grille, in their place a black mesh grille flanked by single headlamps; mechanical changes were limited to electronic ignition and standard air conditioning.This car, a 1972 model and therefore one of just 288 Series 2 cars which were built, is a fine example of the marque. Finished in original specification Cornish Gold with contrasting Black leather interior the cars paint appears to change colour as you view it from different angles. This cherished motorcar is offered with the most enviable history file including pages and pages of invoices and maintenance work from a host of recognised marque experts including R.S. Williams, Nicholas Mee & Co, Aston Engineering Derby, Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd Newport Pagnell and Oselli Ltd. The property of only a small handful of keepers, this car, now reacquainted with it's original registration "NGT 77L', also benefits from a £4,500 engine conversion in 2002 by Rikki Cann to run on unleaded fuel - a very useful improvement for modern conditions.

The car is supplied with a V5C registration document and a fresh MoT test certificate to January 2013. As Mark Hughes concludes in an undated article from 'Classic & Sports Car' magazine (a copy of which is included with the Lot): "Aston Martin V8s are undervalued classics with the potential to attract more interest in the future. It's hard to fault the quality, pedigree and driveability" "[Buy astutely], then burn off, content you've spent wisely on a high-performance, even tempered, near-indestructible exotic that's as British as they come".