1966 Aston Martin DB6

We first encountered this car when it came to us as part of an overseas collection in 2023.

The car had been in the collection since 2007, at which time the mileage was recorded as being 49,305 on an MoT certificate.

Then, the car was red, had an automatic gearbox and came with very little by way of history.

Today, it is silver, with a manual gearbox and, thanks to some investigative work by the vendor, AML and AMOC, we know rather more about its interesting past.

This Aston Martin DB6 was first dispatched to the United States and allocated the chassis number DB6/2604/LN. 

According to AML records, 2604 was one of thirty DB6 saloons returned to the UK between May and August 1967 in order to satisfy increasing demand from British buyers. 

Of those thirty cars, thirteen were converted by Aston Martin to right hand drive specification, with the chassis suffix amended to an ‘R’ to denote the revised steering configuration. 

Chassis 2604 was subsequently sold to its first UK owner by Lazenby Garages Ltd of Rothley, Leicestershire. 

Originally specified in Fiesta Red with a black interior, the car was fitted with a BorgWarner automatic gearbox and, due to its original US destination, equipped with ‘Normalair’ air conditioning, a rare and sought-after feature on early Mk.1 examples. 

It is now presented in the iconic colour combination of Silver Birch with a black leather interior, and benefits from the presence of an expertly retro-fitted ZF manual gearbox. 

Although not currently fitted, the original BorgWarner automatic transmission is included in the sale. 

More recently, the car has been the subject of a comprehensive restoration undertaken by Amazing Autos in South Wales, Aston Workshop, and Nicholas Mee, with expenditure totalling in excess of £152,000. 

Amazing Autos were commissioned to return the car to bare metal, carrying out any necessary body repairs prior to a full repaint. 

The interior was also retrimmed, including the front leather seats, headlining, dashboard and carpets. 

The brightwork has been re-chromed and remains in excellent condition, while the suspension and mechanical components have been restored by marque specialists. 

The engine, running gear and ancillaries have all benefited from substantial refurbishment work, culminating in a major service and further works totalling over £32,000 completed by revered marque specialist Nicholas Mee in May 2025. 

We have started and driven the car and can attest to the fact that it handles very impressively indeed, with nicely weighted steering, good brake feel, a notchy, slick gear box, excellent balance and a fine ride quality.

We think the engine would benefit from a quick tune-up as it is currently running a little roughly when cold, although it does improve when warmed up.

We really can’t fault the vendor’s decision to go for a Silver Birch re-imagining of this stunning classic.

Somehow, it’s pretty much everyone’s idea of what a DB6 (and a DB5, of course) should look like.

The car presents more or less faultlessly from every angle and is a fine illustration of the high bar for beauty and class consistently set by Aston Martin for many, many decades.

The bodywork is reassuringly straight and true, with panel gaps and shut-lines that are consistent and even throughout. 

The chrome is untroubled by any foxing, pitting or tarnishing that we can see anywhere, including on the bright, shiny wire wheels, which are in exemplary order and shod in matching Pirelli Cinturato rubber.

The front bumper has holes at each end of the inner arms. These we think were, and are, intended to support optional overriders or fog lamps if so desired.

The paintwork is really very impressive throughout, with a real depth of shine and lustre achieved and maintained overall.

There are one or two cosmetic deviations from perfection and, as it’s our job to be pernickety and point these things out, here goes.

There’s a small, round patch of slightly darker, discoloured paint on the n/s/r wing; some paint overrun on the leading edge of the bonnet; what looks like a spot of nascent blistering and the odd tiny bubble on the bodywork adjacent to the nearside edge of the bonnet; a small circular depression in the paint just below the offside wing mirror (the nearside wing mirror is in the boot); and the rubber trim around the rear quarter lights is cracked and perishing.

The car’s lights, lenses, badging and other exterior fixtures and fittings are all in commendable condition.

In short then, one or two very minor cosmetic foibles aside, it’s a joy to behold, a treat for the senses and an absolute corker.

The first impression upon opening the doors and settling into the driver’s seat is that this interior is a fabulous advertisement for the bygone glories of analogue technology.

The black dashboard is bristling with black-faced, chrome-ringed gauges and dials, with the spaces between them punctuated by a veritable blizzard of silver switches, levers, knobs, buttons and sliders.

The E Type’s dashboard was often considered to be an homage to the instrument displays its middle-aged owners might have seen in front of them when flying a Spitfire 20 or so years earlier.

Well, the DB6 dashboard goes several steps further and must have been appealing to people who were transfixed by the control panels on NASA’s Apollo programme.

It really does make today’s dashboards, inevitably centred around some featureless touchscreen, seem utterly devoid of character or interest.

Anyway. We digress.

The interior is largely following the example set by its exterior counterpart in terms of quality, condition and preservation.

The front seats have been retrimmed. They are comfortable and supportive and the only signs of wear are a little rubbing to the piping on the outer edges of the squab and backrest bolsters.

They are a slightly different shade of black, perhaps veering towards dark brown in a certain light, to their counterparts in the rear and the black surfaces elsewhere in the car. 

No doubt uniform blackness could be achieved throughout with the judicious application of some leather colouring – if so desired.

We noticed a couple of small nicks in the material at the rear of the front passenger seat backrest.

We also noticed a hole in the backrest of the offside rear seat, and some light cracking to the leather on the leading edge of the rear seat squabs.

The door cards are decent, save for some scuffing along the capping on the passenger door.

In the rear, the trim below the rear quarter-lights is unstitched and a little frayed in a couple of places on both sides.

The carpets and mats are fine but the former might benefit from some realignment and re-glueing here and there.

The gear lever gaiter is loose and unattached at the base, possibly as a consequence of the close proximity of the newly re-upholstered centre armrest to the gear lever.

The wood-rimmed steering wheel (which is beautiful) is in excellent condition. 

As far as we’re aware, all gauges, dials, knobs, levers and switches do what they’re supposed to do without hesitation, repetition or deviation.

The boot, which is as good as the rest of it, contains a full-sized spare wheel, a tool-roll, the passenger-side wing mirror, and a small case containing two glasses and room for a half-bottle of something pleasant.

The engine bay is clean and dry, and the splendid 3995cc straight-six inside it is equally orderly and, as far as we can tell, possessed of all the right ancillaries in all the correct places.

The undersides of the car suggest that the vehicle has barely been outside since the completion of the restoration.

They look sound, solid and squeaky clean. 

Nothing we’ve seen has prompted us to frown, tut or otherwise question the car’s character or credentials. 

The car is offered with its BMIHT Certificate, a comprehensive file of invoices and restoration bills, including £32,000-worth of recent expenditure at Nicholas Mee, the current V5 registration document, a recent HPI report, a copy of the DB6 workshop manual, and photographs of the car in its previous, red-liveried, auto-boxed iteration.

The irony today, of course, is that although the DB6 was a better car than its DB5 predecessor in almost every measurable way, even very average examples of the latter are worth double a concours example of the former – all thanks to the enduring appeal of a fictional character who never actually owned or drove a DB5 in any of Ian Fleming’s novels.

All of which means, however, that although a DB6 as good as this is never going to be a cheap car, it is without doubt exceptional value when compared to the eye-watering prices commanded by any DB5.

And this is a thoroughly good example, having had a great deal of time and money spent on it with all the best people.

We’ve had a quick straw-poll among the specialists, writers and photographers here at HQ and the consensus reached was that, if it wasn’t for alimony payments, cheques lost in the post, etc, we’d bid on it ourselves.

It really is a very special car and, thanks to the time and money thrown at it by the vendor, it now has the gearbox and colour scheme it deserves.

We’re already rather envious of the winning bidder. 

We’re confident to offer this fine car for auction with an estimate of £200,000 - £225,000. 

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