1959 Aston Martin DB4GT Prototype
When Aston Martin announced the DB4 in September 1958, it was the world’s most advanced GT car. Indeed, demand for the new model would vastly outstrip supply. Such was the racing DNA in Aston Martin that six months before the DB4 was announced, the project to create a lightweight, competition version of the DB4 was sanctioned by John Wyer.
Once back from the DB4 launch in Paris, the task of designing the DB4GT started in earnest with Harold Beach and Ted Cutting as the designers. John Wyer saw it as a straightforward task and told Ted 'to cut five inches out of a DB4 and produce a cheap and cheerful GT car.' Wyer’s dry wit was to the fore, but the design team set about the project with the attention to detail that was typical of Aston Martin’s exceptional engineers. The shortening was behind the front seats, giving it shorter doors and a wheelbase of 93 inches. The prototype DB4GT, was made by cutting a very early DB4 platform chassis in two with the floor join reinforced by a fishplate, still visible today.
The DB4GT was designed with two seats and a luggage platform in the rear. The doors were lightweight aluminium, and the boot was occupied by a 30-gallon fuel tank with the spare wheel on top, while the entire body skin was in thinner 18-gauge aluminium alloy. The engine was uprated with a twin plug head and triple 45 DCOE Webers. A front oil cooler scoop added to the air intake, and the car ran on Borrani light alloy wheels with uprated Girling brakes. The streamlined body lines had a purposeful, aggressive look in keeping with its intended purpose as a very rapid GT car and gentlemen’s racer.
RM Sotheby's will be offering this truly unique car at their upcoming Monterey auction between the 18-19th August. The estimated value is between $6,000,000 – $8,000,000. For more information on this and other vehicles at the sale, click on the link below. Photos: Tim Scott ©2017 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's