1961 Aston Martin DB4 Series 3

SOLD

This DB4, chassis number DB4/718/R, was delivered on July 27, 1961, through agent C. Williams, as recorded on the Aston Martin factory build sheet. The same sheet notes that the car was outfitted with Smiths instruments in mph, a heated backlight, two Marchal fog lamps, and a Motorola 818 radio, and it was finished in the body color of Snow Shadow Grey over Dark Blue Connolly trim. During its quarter-century in England, the car was registered as 7727 JW.

Interestingly, the “JW” refers to John Windridge, a senior director of Castrol Limited. Of course, the name Castrol needs absolutely no introduction to even the casual vintage racing enthusiast. It is the motor oil that was employed in virtually every European fast tourer of this era, with Aston Martin certainly being no exception. In fact, in 1960, Aston Martin and Castrol had entered into a sponsorship relationship with one another. According to Tony Bonner, a former Castrol chauffeur, the oil company decided that it would be appropriate to keep a DB4 in the company fleet, and so this car was acquired for Windridge by Castrol as an “executive car.” It was delivered directly to Castrol House, the company’s recently completed and strikingly modern headquarters building on Marylebone Road in Westminster, as is documented on factory records.

Factory service records seem to indicate extensive use of the car in its first few years, with factory maintenance continuing in the ownership of the second caretaker, Ronald Rawden, an active British enthusiast who in five decades of connoisseurship also enjoyed numerous Jaguars, BMWs, and, indeed, other Astons. Mr. Rawden later recalled, “I found the DB4 in a garage in Woodford, Essex. It was a thrilling experience driving it home for the first time, not found with many other cars. After many years, the car needed an overhaul, and I decided to do the work mostly myself. I took the engine completely out of the car and stripped it down to the last nut and bolt. I was in constant touch with the service department at Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell, who gave me all the information and spare parts required.” The Aston was registered in his ownership as 1 EXL.

The factory’s last servicing of the car occurred in late 1969 and early 1970, while in the ownership of Mr. Sudbury, of Suffolk, who acquired the car with 21,589 miles on its odometer in September 1969 and commissioned a full road inspection and new battery. The last note on the factory records is a handwritten comment indicating the car’s acquisition on August 30, 1985, by K.W. Robbins, Esq., of Madrid, Spain.

It is believed that not long after, the car was escorted to a new home in the United States. It was acquired by a gentleman in Mississippi, in whose ownership it remained hidden from sight before emerging recently as a literal “barn find.” Today, it presents as the ideal basis for a restoration, with Mr. Rawden’s work undone by time and age. It still wears its repaint in Caribbean Blue from the 1960s, and while the interior and trim are largely complete, they, along with the rest of the car, require a full restoration. The car does not presently run and drive.

This car is ready to be freshly restored and happily returned to the road, and it represents a rare opportunity to acquire a DB4 that has been out of sight, and even out of mind, for nearly a quarter century.