1960 Aston Martin DB4 - Series II

The Aston Martin DB4 holds a special place in the marque’s history — it was the car that announced Newport Pagnell’s arrival as a world-class manufacturer and set the template for everything that followed, including the celebrated DB5 that succeeded it. Of the five distinct series produced between 1958 and 1963, the Series II is widely regarded as the sweet spot: subtly improved over the original, yet retaining the clean, unspoiled character of the early cars. Only 349 were built, and DB4/303/R is among the most thoroughly documented examples to have come to market in recent years.

First registered on 20 May 1960 — as evidenced by its original buff logbook, which remains with the car — this right-hand-drive example was registered TKY 750, the registration it still carries today. Originally finished in Wedgewood Blue over Off White interior trim, the factory build sheet chronicles the car’s early service history with unusual completeness: engine work at 1,114 miles in April 1960, rear axle replacement at 5,426 miles in March 1961, and a service at 15,506 miles in July 1962. These early records are a rarity on any car of this age and speak to the quality of the history file as a whole.

The logbook traces the DB4’s early ownership through the north of England before it was acquired in May 1964 by Peter Brewer, who used it — in the admirable tradition of the period — to tow his racing cars to historic meetings. Passing through one further owner in Cheshire, the car was acquired by John Nicol in November 1965 and remained within the Nicol family for over forty years following his death in 1986, finally passing out of family hands in 2006. During those four decades, the car accrued approximately 14,000 miles under careful family stewardship, and the history file contains numerous MoT certificates from this period — a record of continuous, well-documented ownership that is increasingly rare among DB4s of any series.

A full restoration was completed in 2015 by Peter Chambers Auto of Tewkesbury, who dismantled the car entirely before returning it to factory specification. The work included a complete engine rebuild and a bare-metal repaint in the original Wedgewood Blue, with parts sourced from Aston Martin Dorset and paintwork carried out by XK Engineering Limited of Coventry. All invoices are present. In 2018 the suspension was comprehensively rebuilt by Aston Martin specialist Nicholas Mee, with the carburettors simultaneously tuned to ensure consistent and accurate running — the work of a house that understands these cars deeply.

The car has been well preserved since and presents beautifully throughout, with a history file of exceptional completeness: the original buff logbook, factory build sheet with early service records, full restoration invoices, subsequent specialist invoices, and a continuous ownership record from new.