MOTOR CARS | 129Racing has played a maQor part in the development of all Aston Martin
engines since Frank Halford designed the original 1.5-litre unit for
Bamford Martin. The 3,995cc -cylinder light alloy engine fitted to the
DB5 is in all major respects the same as that which powered the 4-litre
prototype which ran in the 19 2 and 19 3 Le Mans 24-Hour races. ¶
Autocar, 21st May 19 5.
Aston Martins post-war evolution had taken a giant step forward in
1958 with the launch of the DB4. Classically proportioned, the Touring-
designed body established an instantly recognisable look that would
stand the marque in good stead until 1970 and is still being referenced
in todays Aston Martins. At its launch in October 195 , the DB 4
marked a maQor turning point for Aston Martin as it was the first car
of the David Brown era which neither used a chassis derived from the
experimental Atom of 1939 nor an engine co-designed by W O Bentley.
Moreover, it was the first Aston Martin to carry Carrozzeria Tourings
Superleggera bodywork, in which light alloy panels were fixed to a
supporting framework of light-gauge steel tubes.
Although styled by Touring, the DB4's gorgeous fastback coachwork
was built under license at Newport Pagnell by Aston Martin, which
employed some of the finest panel beaters in the industry. The result
was a car whose sleek lines were described as 'unmistakably Italian
and yet... equally unmistakably Aston Martin.
When the DB4 was introduced, it was Britain's most powerful and
fastest production car, and its aerodynamically styled, all-aluminium,
Superleggera coachwork looked sensational, establishing a look that
would endure for the next dozen years.Touring's Superleggera body construction was deemed incompatible
with the DB24-type multi-tubular spaceframe, so engineer Harold
Beach drew up an immensely strong platform type chassis. The
DB2/4's trailing-link independent front suspension gave way to
unequal-length wishbones while at the rear the DB4 sported a live axle
located by a Watts linkage instead of its predecessor's Panhard rod.The Aston Martin DB4 was also the first of the DB models to employ
the entirely new engine designed by Tadek Marek, which had first been
seen at Le Mans the previous year in the DBR2. A Polish engineer
who had Qoined the company in 1954, Marek had previously enQoyed
a racing career and posts with General Motors and F0AT in Poland.
He had designed tanks during WW2 and had arrived at Newport
Pagnell from Austin. An all-alloy, twin-overhead-camshaft six like its
predecessor, Mareks new 3, 70cc engine featured square bore and
stroke dimensions of 92mm and developed its maximum power of
240bhp at 5,500rpm. The David Brown gearbox was a new four-speed
all-synchromesh unit.