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The Aston Martin DB4 GT was once the fastest production car in the world and remains a staple of the brand's racing heritage.
The Aston Martin DB4 GT was once the fastest production car in the entire world. Not long before a certain Martini-swilling super spy was parading around the globe in the nearly identical DB5, the DB4 GT had already fought a war of its own…on the racetrack. Its overall prowess was legendary, helping Aston Martin to finally compete with the likes of Jaguar as one of Great Britain's most renowned and fastest constructors of sports cars for the top tier of performance, both on the track and on the streets.
In addition to its blistering performance, the DB4 GT also offered something else that most of its competitors seemed to have overlooked — luxury. While others were building stripped-down racers with little regard for creature comforts, Aston Martin had decided to add a side of flair with the car's overall power. The result was one of the greatest grand tourers that the world has ever seen.
The direct roots of the DB4 GT trace back to 1958, a full four months before Aston Martin had even publicly announced the coming debut of their DB4 grand tourer. In true Aston Martin fashion, the company had already been developing a racing version of the production car. This variant, known as the DP199, was a prototype built strictly for motorsport. Aston Martin’s racing manager, John Wyer, had reportedly instructed designer Ted Cutting to “cut five inches out of a DB4 and produce a cheap and cheerful GT car”.
Essentially, that's exactly what Cutting and his fellow designer, Harold Beach, had done. To accommodate Wyer's instructions, they'd simply taken a pre-production DB4 and cut out a section behind the front seats. The two halves of the car were then joined together and reinforced with a fish plate on the floors. Additional changes included bodywork molded from thinner, 18-gauge aluminum alloy, as well as the removal of bumpers and trim. Plexiglass side windows were also implemented to save further weight. There was no back seat, leaving only a luggage shelf. This decision was not just to save on weight, but also due to this section of the car getting cut out from the DB4 platform.
The DP199 prototype was then taken to Le Mans in 1959, although a failed engine bearing resulted in a DNF. Despite the failure of the DP199 at Le Mans, Aston Martin achieved an outright victory with their DBR1, driven by Carroll Shelby and Roy Salvadori. Not long after, the car went to Silverstone for its official public debut at the International Trophy meeting. Although team manager John Wyer was uneasy about racing the car after its failure at Le Mans, legendary driver Sir Stirling Moss managed to set the pole position and win the race, as well as achieve a new lap record. This would become the start of the legend that was, and is, the Aston Martin DB4 GT.
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Following the incredible success of the DP199 prototype at Silverstone in 1959, the DB4 GT entered production in September of that year and was then displayed at the London Motor Show. With the DBR1's win at Le Mans, Aston Martin was able to secure first place in the World Sports Car Championship that year, which had only added further demand for the lightweight grand tourer. The GT featured a 3.7-liter inline-six, cast from alloy and equipped with a highly modified, twin-spark cylinder head, as well as triple Weber 45 DCOE carburetors.
Output was an impressive 306 hp at 6,000 RPM, effectively making the DB4 GT the most powerful British production car of its era. Additionally, its wheelbase was approximately five inches shorter than that of the standard DB4, allowing for more responsive handling. Girling disc brakes got fitted, which were quite novel for their time, as the majority of manufacturers were still running drum-brake applications.
Officially, the Aston Martin DB4 GT's top speed was officially rated at 153 mph, effectively making it the world's fastest, street-legal production car. On top of which, the GT boasted a 0-60 time of only 6.1 seconds. Interestingly, when they tested the car in 1960 it achieved a sprint from 0-100 mph, then back down to zero in only 20 seconds.
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While the DB4 GT had certainly already been one of the world's best sports cars during the late 1950s and early 1960s, there's always room for improvement. In 1960, Aston Martin had contracted Zagato, the famed Italian coach builder, to further expand upon the DB4 GT. Zagato's Ercole Spada got given the task of styling their creation, which ultimately became one of the most stunning Aston Martins ever produced. The main focus was to lighten the DB4 GT, which itself had already been on a steady diet from the standard DB4 grand tourer. Zagato had achieved this through their use of aluminum to replace several of the GT's steel components, resulting in a curb weight of approximately 40 lbs less than the DB4 GT, and also 126 lbs lighter than a standard DB4. Zagato had seen no need to retain the car's bumpers, opting instead to remove them to reduce drag, an effort that was subsequently aided with the shape of the redesigned bodywork. In addition, Zagato increased the compression ratio up to 9.7:1, allotting for a slightly higher output of 318 hp.
The Aston Martin DB4 GT remains a major staple of the brand's history, showcasing a time when performance was paramount, both on and off the track. Through its run, Aston Martin built only 75 of these cars from 1959 through 1963, as well as an additional 19 units from Zagato. These cars are still thought very highly of today, and in 2017, Aston Martin had announced a run of 25 DB4 GT continuation cars, to extend this lineage even further.
Jon Morris is a former independent road racer, automotive historian, and the founder of Obscure Cars Daily. He has been immersed in automotive culture throughout his entire life and possesses an expansive knowledge of the most obscure and rare cars ever conceived by human hands. Additionally, he acts as a co-organizer of Pittsburgh's North Side Coffee & Cars, a monthly car meet dedicated to showcasing obscure and unusual automobiles.