Rare Aston Martin DBS Vantage Manual

Further Information

Although always intended to house the new Tadek Marek-designed V8 engine, the Aston Martin DBS first appeared with the 4.0-litre 'six' of the concurrently produced DB6. Styled in-house by Bill Towns, the beautiful DBS caused quite a stir, Autocar magazine observing that: "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." Although less well known as such than the earlier 'DB' series, the DBS is yet another 'James Bond' Aston Martin, having featured in the 1969 motion picture, On Her Majesty's Secret Service, starring George Lazenby as the eponymous secret agent.


Beneath its shapely exterior, the DBS employed a platform-type chassis with wishbone and coil-spring independent suspension at the front, De Dion with Watts linkage at the rear. Larger and more luxuriously appointed than the DB6, the heavier DBS disappointed some by virtue of its slightly reduced performance, but the Vantage version's top speed of 140mph and a standing quarter-mile time of 16.3 seconds were highly respectable figures nonetheless. Assessing the virtues of Aston's new flagship, Autocar judged it superior to the DB6 in many areas, the bigger DBS offering four full-sized seats in addition to transformed handling and road-holding courtesy of the new rear suspension and standardised power steering.


"Turning to matters other than performance, we were most tremendously impressed by the DBS," enthused Car magazine. "The interior, especially merits praise not only for its uniquely satisfying aesthetics and superb finish (way, way ahead of any Italian rival in this respect) but also for the thought that has gone into the ergonomics of its layout."


The accompanying build record lists this car's specification as Azzure Blue with red trim, delivered by H.W. Motors Ltd to a Mr Bock of London and first registered EB 42. "Possibly the best DBS Vantage currently on the market," was the advert description for '5036/R' when the previous owner bought the car in 2009 following a comprehensive restoration. Since then the car has been kept in storage with very little use and the current mileage shown is 89056. At the time of purchase in 2009 the car came with restoration invoices and an extensive history file of previous-owner documentation and bills which has sadly since been lost. However, the history file does include the aforementioned build sheet, various recent service and sales preparation invoices from ourselves and a current V5C registration document. The car is in superb condition inside and out and is ready to be enjoyed by a new owner.


Interest in the DBS has been rising steadily amongst Aston Martin collectors for some time now, and this car represents a fantastic opportunity to own their dream Aston. This 1968 Aston Martin DBS is now for sale at Aston Workshop. Our helpful sales team are happy to discuss the car in further detail; please call +44 (0) 1207 268 932 / +44 (0) 7827353195 or email sales@aston.co.uk.


About Aston Workshop:

Aston Workshop is an independent Aston Martin specialist located on Red Row Estate, an idyllic 37 acre venue set in the North East countryside. Red Row is located in County Durham, only 2 miles away from Beamish Museum, one of the North’s major tourist attractions. We offer a wide variety of contemporary Aston Martins for sale in our showroom including special editions, low mileage examples and high performance models. Typically we have around 80 cars on site at any given time.  Additionally we have an unrivalled selection of valuable heritage models which are rare and often rebuilt to bespoke specifications with discrete modern enhancements. Typically stocking fully restored examples, older restorations, drivers, 100% electric zero emission EV conversions and even barn finds, our showroom is an unrivalled experience for the Aston Martin Enthusiast. We also build cars such as our DB4 GT Zagato recreations and our V8 Evolution 6.0.

Our sales showroom is supported by over 40 vastly experienced workshop staff working with a wide range of comprehensive in-house facilities including all aspects of Aston Martin diagnosis, repair, servicing and restoration to concours standards. Each member of our team works hard to ensure that we stay at the forefront of Aston engineering technology, Aston parts supply and full restorations including fixed price services where applicable.

Our experienced team are also pleased to help and advise if you are a collector or seeking to purchase a car specifically for investment purposes.

The benefits of buying and selling with us include:

  • Nationwide collection and delivery service on our own covered transporters
  • Cars which are prepared by technicians working exclusively on Aston Martins
  • Our own Aston Workshop Warranty
  • A comprehensive customer service which truly works for the duration of ownership
  • The confidence of dealing with a leading independent specialist established over 30 years








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