The Auto Channel-Sports Car International Magazine

Drop-dead Dropheads
Dualing Astons

Like the company itself, Aston Martin's models have endured many ups and downs. Here are shining examples from two of Newport Pagnell's better eras.

Which is the better car, the DB2/4 Mark III or the DB5 Volante? Or is this one of those "apples and oranges" questions, to which there is no valid answer?

"Ideally, I would prefer to drive my Volante from LA to San Francisco. But once there, the Mark III would be my choice for the actual running of an event like the California Mille." That is the assessment offered by Southern California enthusiast Jerry Rosenstock, who owns both Aston Martins featured here. With the cars' owner playing "devil's advocate," we drove off toward Santa Barbara in search of enlightenment.

Quintessentially British sports cars, Aston Martins originally were made primarily for home market consumption. Buyer demographics encompassed two groups: the gentry and those who wanted to pass for gentry. It is highly doubtful that Aston Martin salesmen were often asked to quote hire-purchase monthly payments, a quaint British euphemism for car-financing. Either one could afford to purchase this sort of vehicle outright, or one just didn't qualify. It was all veddy, veddy upper-crust. That is not meant to imply that an Aston Martin was for the effete, chauffeur-driven class. Nor was it a substitute for the sporty between-the-wars Bentley, though it's a pretty good bet that both marques often were found (and still are) sitting mudguard-to-wing in the same garages.

Three distinct generations of road-going Aston Martins evolved during David Brown's quarter-century tenure as owner of this thoroughbred nameplate. There had been earlier iterations during the years between 1914 and 1947, cars that combined basic necessities into a stylish, yet purposeful package, sporting vehicles built by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. There have been further variations during the years since 1972, when American Peter Sprague and Canadian George Minden purchased the financially ravaged company from the David Brown organization. It might be said that the latter-day V8 Astons of the 1970s and 1980s, superbly built and very fast though they were, had become the world's fastest boulevardiers. While breathtaking performance still was there statistically, actually in even greater measure, the performance aspect had become secondary to refinement and luxury.

As featured here, the DB2/4 Mark III is considered to be the ultimate distillation of Aston Martin's first David Brown generation - the first six-cylinder Aston Martins powered by evolutionary versions of the W.O. Bentley-designed Lagonda engine. The other car, a DB5, represents, along with the DB6, what some believe to have been the best Astons of the second generation, the Tadek Marek period.

Admittedly, there are others besides Marek, talented and dedicated men like Harold Beach, Steve Heggie and Dudley Gershon, whose roles deserve more than a tip of the hat. While the V8 that followed also was a Marek creation, our focus in this instance is limited to the six cylinder cars.

More often, Aston Martins have been compared, not to each other, but to Jaguars, comparative mass production cars with similar performance capabilities and mechanical specifications. Astons, virtually bespoke machines, hand-built from aluminum alloy, generally have been at least twice as expensive. Another logical basis for comparison, particularly during the '50s and '60s, was Ferrari, whose prices and performance envelope were similar to Aston's. During the two decades following WW II, a common denominator among all three nameplates was a preoccupation with the 24 Hours of Le Mans, a race that David Brown, William Lyons and Enzo Ferrari all looked upon as the holiest of holy grails. Parenthetically, in that quest, all three marques were successful at least once.

Comparing one Aston Martin generation to another is an interesting assignment. Constants are easily identified, while variations are even more obvious. Yet some differences are elusive, more difficult to define, and they just may be the most telling.

Power To The People

After acquiring Aston Martin in early 1947, David Brown then proceeded to purchase Lagonda later the same year. His primary motivation was to obtain the W.O. Bentley-designed 2.6-liter six-cylinder Lagonda powerplant as a replacement for the Aston Martin's then existing 2.0-liter four banger. He felt - rightfully so - that this acquisition would be a short cut to attaining the sort of performance needed if Aston Martin was to become a serious player in international sports car competition. Brown was right.

As far as road-going vehicles are concerned, W.O. Bentley's twin overhead camshaft engine was maxed out at 3.0 liters. Tadek Marek's similarly configured, but really totally different inline six began at 3.7 liters and eventually was expanded to 4.0 liters, as fitted to series production cars. Because of its aluminum alloy construction, the larger and much more powerful Marek engine actually weighed about 50 pounds less than did its cast iron predecessor.

In its final year, the DB2/4 Mark m of 1959, the Bentley-designed, Lagonda-based engine was rated, depending on stage of tune, between 162 and 214 hp. Compression and carburetion options made that much of a difference. In either stage of tune, the Aston Martin was an excellent performer, easily achieving a three-figure cruising speed with room to spare. It also was the first road-going Aston fitted with disc brakes, albeit only to the front wheels.

When introduced, the 3.7-liter Marek powerplant produced a claimed 240 hp. a figure that was generally discounted by as much as 30 hp. Nevertheless, a top speed of close to 140 mph versus the Mark m's 120 mph was not disputed. When displacement was increased to 4.0 liters in DB5 specification, power ratings became 282 hp with a pair of SU HD8 carburetors and 314 hp (some say 325) with triple Webers. Even allowing for some puffery, the DB5 engine produced enough power to propel the 3300 pound car to between 145 and 150 mph.

To give proper credit to Polish-born Marek's contributions, it should be noted that he also was responsible for expanding the W.O. Bentley engine from 2.6 to its final 3.0 liter displacement.

The appearance of Girling disc front brakes on the Mark III was perceived by the press and the market as a significant step in improving the Mark III over the all drum brake Mark II. Vacuum boosted Dunlop discs became standard issue on the DB4, and Girlings were fitted to the DB5. In the latter, the combination of raw torque and braking ability enabled Aston Martin to claim a 0-to-100 mph-to 0 capability of 20 seconds.

The Underpinnings

Starting with broad-brush similarities, both the DB2/4 and DB4, 5, and 6 were fitted with independent front and live axle rear suspension systems, though a de Dion rear was something that was flirted with during the constant re-evaluation of both series.

Responding to a question about Aston Martin's continued use of a live axle versus IRS or de Dion, in a well remembered address to the Madison Avenue Sports Car Driving and Chowder Society in 1965, managing director Steve Heggie replied that in his opinion any improvements in handling that such a change might produce could be equated with "pissing in the Missouri River."

In-house produced rack and pinion steering gave Aston Martins admirable response to driver input, but also significant feedback over rough surfaces, a trait that would be hard to sell today at any price range, much less at Aston Martin's now stratospheric level. At the front, the Marek cars used long-term chassis engineer Harold Beach's coil-over-shock, double wishbone suspension, and a coil-sprung trailing arm arrangement at the rear, located by Watts linkage. That replaced a more compact torsion bar suspension of the earlier DB4s.

The marque's first foray into a platform chassis had come in 1958 with the advent of the DB4, from which the DB5 and DB6 evolved directly. The original intent had been to create an evolutionary chassis frame, but when David Brown and then General Manager John Wyer committed themselves to using Italy's Carrozzeria Touring to style and engineer the new body, that company's Superleggera construction called for a platform-type frame, reinforced by Touring's Superleggera thin-tube superstructure of the actual bodywork. Gone was the earlier chassis comprised of square and rectangular steel tubing.

During its five evolutionary stages, the DB4 body was lengthened by four inches, though the wheelbase remained the same at 98 inches. That does not apply to the DB4 GT, which, being a two seater, was built on a four-inch shorter wheelbase and which also was four inches shorter overall. This fact often is confused with the further lengthening, also a four inch increase, of both wheelbase and bodywork which occurred when the DB6 came on the scene in 1966. This difficult-to-follow lengthening and shortening scenario has relevance to our story, because the Volante name originally was introduced for a convertible built on the DB5 chassis, but which seemed in all other respects to be a DB6. When the 37 remaining DB5 chassis' were gone, the Volante name was continued on the longer DB6 chassis. Visually, it gained a longer rear decklid with a rather abrupt, Kamm-type "duck's ass" spoiler at the trailing edge, an item that in fairness proved itself useful by effectively reducing high speed lift that sometimes had made its predecessors somewhat more exciting than intended. As integrated into the coupe body-style, this feature was more pleasant to the eye.

Perhaps the most significant change in the DB5 and later cars was a hard pill for David Brown to swallow - it was the adoption of a ZF five-speed gearbox as a replacement for the balky David Brown four-speed transmission that was fitted to its predecessors.

What's It Like Out There?

How can two such different vehicles be so alike in character? After spending a day with owner Rosenstock, alternating between periods at the wheel of his DB2/4 Mark m drophead and his DB5 SWB Volante, I tend to agree that the earlier model has the more sporting personality, and thus would be my choice as well for a retro-rally like the Colorado Grand or New England 1000.

But with its Vantage-spec, Weber-carbureted engine, the Volante can run away and hide from the Mark III. It also rides better, corners at least as well and offers a lot more in the creature comfort department. When fitted with SU cartes, the Volante is more tractable around town, as opposed to this Vantage, which requires frequent throttle "blipping" to avoid fouled plugs. Notwithstanding, the DB5 is a car one could live with quite easily as a daily driver.

Therein may lie the answer to our dilemma: Perhaps the Volante indeed is too comfortable, too civilized, too gentrified, just too darn refined for it to be as much fun as the more spartan DB2/4. Selectaride electrically adjustable rear shocks, "smart" brake lights that shine brighter by day than by night and seats that prioritize occupant comfort above a proper driving position may produce a superior touring capsule, but do not necessarily add to the visceral excitement of motoring for motoring's sake.

The DB2/4 comes closest to meeting the time-honored though unofficial definition of a sports car. While neither can be termed spartan for its moment in history, the earlier model seems more visceral in its ability to communicate with the driver (less insulation translates to less isolation). Still, there's no debating that the Volante is an aesthetic treat, perhaps the last Aston design before the DB7 to be truly timeless. Choosing between the two is largely academic anyway, as few have the good fortune to be in the position to make such a choice. Besides, either model has enough style and charm to brighten any sports car-lover's garage.

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