{"id":498276,"date":"2019-07-15T14:43:59","date_gmt":"2019-07-15T21:43:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportscardigest.com\/\/?p=84811"},"modified":"2024-01-29T00:26:23","modified_gmt":"2024-01-29T00:26:23","slug":"1957-aston-martin-db2-4-mk-iii","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.supercars.net\/blog\/1957-aston-martin-db2-4-mk-iii\/","title":{"rendered":"1957 Aston Martin DB2\/4 Mk III"},"content":{"rendered":"

I was disappointed. The Aston Martin I was supposed to drive was in the shop. But, Alberto Gutierrez had another Aston waiting for me, and my disappointment quickly turned into joy. Sitting next to the Arnolt Bristol I was to profile (see Wacky? Hardly!\u20141954 Arnolt-Bristol Bolide<\/a>) was an absolutely gorgeous Caribbean Pearl Blue DB 2\/4 MKIII. Gutierrez said, \u201cI\u2019m an Aston guy, I\u2019ve had a lot of them, and this is one of my favorites. I want you to drive it and see what you think.\u201d Well, I\u2019ve always lusted after an Aston Martin. I drove a DB4 years ago, and have always thought of it as my ultimate automobile, until I saw this DB2\/4 MKIII. It was a design evolution from the previous DB2\/4 models with a grille treatment that influenced that of the DB4. A transition model? The MKIII seems to have been designed to be the bridge between the older Aston Martin style and what the company believed would be their future.<\/p>\n

The company came to be the same way as a few other British sports car manufactures\u2013 with an available car modified for competition. In the case of Aston Martin, it was a 10-hp, four-cylinder Singer that Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin modified for trials. Its first event was a hillclimb, at Aston Clinton, on May 24, 1914. It took first in its class, with \u201cThe Autocar\u201d writing that it was \u201cremarkable . . . [for its] smooth running and easy climbing.\u201d That win fixed the name of the new marque \u2013 it would be Aston Martin. Martin and Bamford\u2019s first Aston Martin prototype used a Coventry-Simplex, 1388-cc, four-cylinder engine in an Isotta Fraschini chassis. Progress on this prototype was delayed as the world engaged in what was called \u201cThe War to End All Wars.\u201d<\/p>\n

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After the war, Aston Martin got off to a slow start and subsequently experienced a succession of owners. The second car to be produced had an engine enlarged to 1486-cc so it could compete in a 1 \u00bd liter class. The company moved into larger facilities but lost Bamford, who resigned from the company. Production didn\u2019t get started until 1921, and the company produced less than 50 cars in its first four years. By then, John Benson was the company\u2019s owner, but slow production resulted in the company going into receivership in 1925.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>The next owners would last seven years, but in that time they did some good things, such as getting the company back into racing. Augustus Cesare Bertelli and W.S. Renwick had produced only one Enfield-Alldays automobile when they took over Aston Martin Motors. They used a 1495-cc, four-cylinder engine on various length chassis and built around 15 cars. They took their cars to Le Mans in 1928 but failed to finish. The cars, LM1 and LM2, continued to compete with some success. 1928 was also the year that they introduced the International, with a variety of body styles. It had a good engine and decent chassis, but it was heavy. A new International was introduced in 1932 with a higher compression engine, producing 60 bhp, and a Laycock gearbox, but production numbers were too low, and, as reported by Michael Bowler in Automobile Quarterly <\/em>Volume XXI, Number 4, the company \u201cpassed into the control of Sir Arthur Sutherland\u201d and, subsequently, to his son, Gordon Sutherland. The MK II, with a stiffer chassis and 1 \u00bd liter engine producing 73 bhp, raced to good class results at Le Mans in 1932 and 1933. In 1934, there were three new racers – LM11, LM12, and LM14. LM11 did not finish, but the other two finished 10th<\/sup>\u00a0and 11th\u00a0<\/sup>overall.<\/p>\n

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The next model was the Ulster, a 100 mph car with an engine producing 85 bhp at 5250 rpm. There were 17 production Ulsters, with four going to the Le Mans team. Racing successes were resulting in sales, but by 1936 Gordon Sutherland believed that the company needed to produce road cars to be profitable. A touring version of the new two-liter Speed model was designed by Claude Hill and Bertolli, with a wet sump and single overhead camshaft engine. Sales were good \u2013 174 cars were sold up until the beginning of World War II.<\/p>\n

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The post-war cars were a continuation of the pre-war cars with a 2-liter engine.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Post-war, the model was continued with a new 2-liter engine. The prototype won the 24 Hours of Spa, in 1948, but a lack of funds resulted in only 15 being produced before the company was taken over by David Brown Gears. The models would now have a new designation \u2013 DB \u2013 that continues to this day. The DB1 used the design of the pre-war car that Aston Martin had initially produced after the war. When David Brown brought Lagonda into the company, he got the technical bits from the W.O. Bentley-designed Lagonda saloon. The Lagonda was independently sprung and was powered by a 2.6-liter, straight six, dual overhead cam engine. It was this engine that went into the DB2, a car that became Aston Martin\u2019s first true grand tourer. The body of the DB2 was designed by Frank Feeley. A total of 411 were produced from 1950-\u201953. The DB2 engine produced 105 bhp, or 125 for the Vantage, giving the car a stop speed of 120 mph.<\/p>\n

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The DB2\/4 was a pretty car that evolved into the MKIII.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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A key design piece taken from the DB3S for the MKIII was the grille shape.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The introduction of the DB2\/4, in 1953, brought Aston Martin firmly into the grand touring car market. Changes were made to the chassis and the roofline to allow room for an occasional passenger in the back, including a bit more headroom. There would be more power as well, with the new 2.9-liter engine producing 150 bhp. A DB2\/4 MKII was produced next with bodywork by Tickford. Around this time in the middle \u201950s, Aston Martin produced the DB3S and the road-going DB3. The DB3S had several good results at Le Mans, and it introduced a wider and lower grille than had been seen previously.<\/p>\n

That more attractive grille was adopted for the DB2\/4 MKIII that began production in 1957. It was another step by the company toward the design of modern Aston Martin automobiles. The MKIII had some design elements reminiscent of the DB2\/4, but with the DB3 grille, it looked more modern. Eventually, it would come with front disc brakes and engines producing from 162-180 bhp, depending on which carburetors were installed. It also gave a hint of what the DB4 would look like. Production of the MKIII reached 290 cars and overlapped with the DB4, whose Touring coachwork was longer and lower than the MKIII. The DB4 also came with a 3.7-liter, all-aluminum, DOHC, inline-6 producing 240 bhp. With the DB4, Aston Martin saw the first of its modern automobiles, and it was the MKIII that provided the step the company needed to reach modernity.<\/p>\n