Slightly longer and more refined than its older sibling, in classic terms, the DB6 is a compelling option for those who yearn to own a 1960’s Aston.
Over the years we have worked on many DB6’s including the original, Mark II’s and Volantes. In fact, one of the very first cars we worked on when Pugsley and Lewis were formed in 1989, was a DB6 Volante, and herein lies an interesting story.
Our First DB6
Just as Pugsley and Lewis came into existence, we were approached about a DB6 Volante that was located in Aston Martin's factory. They had quoted to do the restoration work, but for whatever reason, the customer decided they wanted us to do it. We collected the car on the understanding that we would restore it over a long period as the customer wasn’t in a rush. In fact, he didn’t live permanently in the UK.
What actually happened was that the car stayed with us for almost 30 years, and the customer never drove it! Once fully restored, the DB6 went into storage with ourselves - awaiting collection by the customer - but that collection never came. The customer did visit the car once, and we took him and his son out for a drive, but that was the one, and only time they ever sat in the vehicle – even then they didn’t drive it.
Eventually, they asked us to sell the vehicle for them, which we did.
Then There Was The DB6 Estate
Although this DB6 Volante was the first DB6 restored by Pugsley and Lewis, both Tim and Martin had been restoring and working on DB6’s for several years previous to that. One customer in particular owned no fewer than three DB6’s, including an ultra-rare DB6 estate. Which brings us to our second DB6 story.
While staying at their holiday home in France, the wife of the chap who owned the three DB6’s sadly passed away. Unperturbed, and very much wanting his wife’s funeral to take place in the UK, he duly packed up his DB6 estate, putting his deceased wife in the back. He then proceeded to drive home to London.
On arrival in the UK, our intrepid adventurer was asked who else was in the car. I’m sure you can imagine the ensuing conversation and chaos!
Stand And Deliver
Then there was the DB6 that Tim bought for his own use. The car was located in a lock-up in Germany. Tim went over and viewed the car and decided to buy it, but instead of driving the vehicle back himself, he paid someone else to do it.
All went well until, on arrival in Calais to meet the ferry, the chap realised he had forgotten to take with him his passport. Fully expecting to run into problems when driving off the ferry, he proceeded to board anyway. As he tried to enter the UK, he was flagged down by a customs official and asked to present his documents. In true British, "in for a penny in for a pound" style, instead of presenting the required documents, the most important one of which was the passport that he didn’t have, he simply stated “Look at the car, I’m bringing her home!” at which point he was waved through with a smile. It would never happen today!
First Class? Really?
Then there was the DB6 we delivered to a customer in France.
Following a full restoration project, including converting the car to left-hand drive, upgrading it to Vantage spec and adding heated seats and sat-nav, all done while maintaining the original aesthetic, the customer requested that we drive the car to his house in France. The journey involved a drive to Paris, followed by a trip on a car transporter train. What could go wrong?
The first challenging part of the journey was not being allowed to drive the car onto the transporter train, imagine how nerve-jangling it was to see all our hard work in the hands of someone who’d possibly never driven a classic car, let alone a classic Aston Martin DB6.
Then there was the “first-class” cabin that had been booked for us on the train. On the face of it, the idea of first-class train travel to our destination sounded great but what we hadn’t realised was all this meant was you shared your cabin with two complete strangers instead of four!
It’s a journey we will never (ever!) forget. Still, the DB6 was delivered to its proud owner, and the car always comes back to our workshop every year for a service and winter storage.
Take A Closer Look - The DB6 Is A Truly Outstanding Car
Despite some of the sticky situations we’ve been in thanks to DB6’s, we love these cars, and the DB6 Mk II is a car that’s high on Tim’s long list of cars he’d like to own. They are lovely to drive and more refined than the DB5 and to many the ultimate classic Aston Martin to own and enjoy. If you’re looking for a classic Aston and the DB5 is simply financially out of your reach or proving impossible to find, the DB6 is something you should take a very close look at.
