The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a
grand tourer
A grand tourer (GT) is a type of car that is designed for high speed and long-distance driving, due to a combination of performance and luxury attributes. The most common format is a Front-engine, rear-wheel-drive layout, front-engine, rear-wh ...
produced by
Aston Martin
Aston Martin Lagonda Global Holdings PLC is an English manufacturer of luxury sports cars and grand tourers. Its predecessor was founded in 1913 by Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford. Steered from 1947 by David Brown, it became associated wi ...
from 1953 until 1957. It was available as a
2+2
Two Two (투투) was a Korean pop
Pop or POP may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Music
* Pop music, a musical genre Artists
* POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade
* Pop!, a UK pop group
* Pop! featuring Angie Hart, ...
hatchback
A hatchback is a car body configuration with a rear door that swings upward to provide access to a cargo area. Hatchbacks may feature fold-down second row seating, where the interior can be reconfigured to prioritize passenger or cargo volume. ...
saloon,
drophead coupé
A convertible or cabriolet () is a passenger car that can be driven with or without a roof in place. The methods of retracting and storing the roof vary among eras and manufacturers.
A convertible car's design allows an open-air driving exp ...
(DHC) and 2-seat fixed-head coupé. A small number of
Bertone bodied
spider
Spiders (order Araneae) are air-breathing arthropods that have eight legs, chelicerae with fangs generally able to inject venom, and spinnerets that extrude silk. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species ...
s were commissioned by private buyers.
Overview
The DB2/4 was based on the
DB2, which it replaced. Changes included a wraparound windscreen, larger bumpers, and repositioned headlights. The body was designed by draftsman John Turner who was 17 years of age at the time.
The
Lagonda straight-6 engine, designated the VB6E, was initially the same
dual overhead cam straight-6
The straight-six engine (also referred to as an inline-six engine; abbreviated I6 or L6) is a piston engine with six cylinders arranged in a straight line along the crankshaft. A straight-six engine has perfect primary and secondary engine bala ...
designed by
W. O. Bentley and used in the Vantage version of the DB2. Displacement was 2.6 L (2,580 cc/157 in³), giving 125 hp (93 kW). In September 1953 for the Saloon and in April 1954 for the Drophead, a 2.9 L (2,922 cc/178 in³) VB6J version was used, raising power to 140 hp (104 kW) and maximum speed to 120 mph (193 km/h).
Of the 565 Mark I models produced, 102 were Drophead Coupés.
A 2.9 litre DB2/4 tested by British magazine
The Motor
''The Motor'' (later, just ''Motor'') was a British weekly car magazine founded on 28 January 1903 and published by Temple Press. It was initially launched as ''Motorcycling and Motoring'' in 1902 before the title was shortened. From the 14 ...
in 1954 had a top speed of and accelerated from 0- in 10.5 seconds. A fuel consumption of was recorded. The test car cost £2621 including taxes.
Three works cars were prepared for the 1955
Monte Carlo Rally
The Monte Carlo Rally or Rallye Monte-Carlo (officially ''Rallye Automobile de Monte-Carlo'') is a rallying event organised each year by the Automobile Club de Monaco. The rally now takes place along the French Riviera in Monaco and southeas ...
and two for the
Mille Miglia
The Mille Miglia (, ''Thousand Miles'') was an open-road, motorsport endurance race established in 1927 by the young Counts Francesco Mazzotti and Aymo Maggi, which took place in Italy twenty-four times from 1927 to 1957 (thirteen before World ...
. Aston Martin pursued its competitive ambitions more intently with the
DB3, which was designed specifically for sports-car racing.
A DB2/4 Mk I Drophead Coupé appeared in the 1963
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
film ''
The Birds''
imcdb.org
Mark II
The DB2/4 Mk II model, introduced in 1955, offered an optional large-valve, high compression (8.6:1) 165 hp (123 kW) engine. Other changes included small tailfins, bubble-type tail lights as on the Morris Minor
The Morris Minor is a British economy family car that made its debut at the Earls Court Motor Show, London, in October 1948. Designed under the leadership of Alec Issigonis, more than 1.6 million were manufactured between 1948 and 1972 in ...
, and added chrome. The bonnet horizontal split line was also changed from door sill height to a line carried backwards from the top of the front wheel arch.
A 2-seat Fixed Head Coupé (FHC) was new, in addition to the continued Drophead. 34 of the 199 Mark II models used this new coupé body, which was the style chosen by David Brown for his own car. Three Mark II chassis were sent to Carrozzeria Touring
Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera is an Italian automobile coachbuilder. Originally established in Milan in 1925, Carrozzeria Touring became well known for both the beauty of its designs and patented superleggera construction methods. The bu ...
in Italy to be bodied as Spider models. Touring would later help Aston with the Superleggera
Superleggera (Italian for ''Superlight'') is a custom tube and alloy panel automobile coachwork construction technology developed by Felice Bianchi Anderloni of Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. A separate chassis was st ...
design of the DB4.
One significant behind-the-scenes change for the Mark II was the relocation of coachbuilding
A coachbuilder or body-maker is someone who manufactures bodies for passenger-carrying vehicles.Construction has always been a skilled trade requiring a relatively lightweight product with sufficient strength. The manufacture of necessarily ...
responsibilities from Mulliner's of Feltham
Feltham () is a town in West London, England, from Charing Cross. Historically part of Middlesex, it became part of the London Borough of Hounslow in 1965. The parliamentary constituency of Feltham and Heston has been held by Labour Party ...
to Tickford's works in Newport Pagnell
Newport Pagnell is a town and civil parish in the City of Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, England. The Office for National Statistics records Newport Pagnell as part of the Milton Keynes urban area.
It is separated from the rest of the urban ...
. Brown had purchased Tickford in 1954 and would move all of Aston Martin's operations there with the start of DB4 production.
Production
** Mark I: 565
*** Drophead Coupé: 102
*** Bertone Spider: 4 or 5
** Mark II: 199
*** Fixed Head Coupé: 34
*** Drophead Coupé: 16
*** Touring Spider: 3
File:Aston Martin DB2-4 Mark I Heck.jpg, Aston Martin DB2/4 "Mark I" Saloon
File:1953 Aston Martin DB 2-4 DHC - green - fvr3.jpg, Aston Martin DB2/4 "Mark I" Drophead Coupé of 1953
File:Aston Martin DB2.4 dhc.jpg, Aston Martin DB2/4 Bertone Spider of 1954
File:Aston Martin DB2-4 MkII front.jpg, Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark II Saloon
File:Aston Martin DB2-4 MkII FHC rear.jpg, Aston Martin DB2/4 Mark II Fixed Head Coupé by Tickford, one of 34 produced
File:1953 Arnolt Aston Martin DB2-4 Bertone Cabriolet (LML504), left side at Greenwich 2019.jpg, Drophead Coupé designed by Giovanni Michelotti
Giovanni Michelotti (6 October 1921 – 23 January 1980) was one of the most prolific designers of sports cars in the 20th century. His notable contributions were for Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati and Triumph marques. He was also associated with t ...
for Bertone
References
Further reading
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*
*
*
External links
An original Aston Martin DB2/4 sales brochure
''Aston.co.uk''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aston Martin DB2 4
DB2 4
Cars introduced in 1953
24 Hours of Le Mans race cars
Hatchbacks
Rear-wheel-drive vehicles
Coupés