Elliott D. Hillback, of Needham, MA, sent in an email about his 1963 Aston Martin DB4C: The DB4C with a top speed of almost 150 mph, a sleek and sexy Anglo-Italian “Superleggera” (super lightweight) alloy body, all disk brakes, an all coil spring suspension, and a strong and flexible 3.7-liter engine set a new standard for post- war sports/grand touring cars. Our car, DB4C 1083L, is one of 70 convertibles built, only 28 of which were left-hand drive. This particular car is further differentiated from all other DB4 convertibles because it was fitted at the factory with a “show motor” which […]
Elliott D. Hillback, of Needham, MA, sent in an email about his 1963 Aston Martin DB4C:
The DB4C with a top speed of almost 150 mph, a sleek and sexy Anglo-Italian “Superleggera” (super lightweight) alloy body, all disk brakes, an all coil spring suspension, and a strong and flexible 3.7-liter engine set a new standard for post- war sports/grand touring cars.
Our car, DB4C 1083L, is one of 70 convertibles built, only 28 of which were left-hand drive. This particular car is further differentiated from all other DB4 convertibles because it was fitted at the factory with a “show motor” which includes numerous polished, chromed and black enameled components to ready the car for display. It was shown at the 1963 New York Auto Show to publicize the availability of the DB4 convertible in the U.S. market. In every respect the car has been maintained at a high level of originality without any “modernization.”
We have owned it since 2004 and driven it more than 10,000 miles, 95% with the top down (78,000 on odometer).
It is a great car to drive aggressively on the backwoods and farm roads of the Adirondack and Thousand Island regions of northern New York. On those great roads, the handling is both capable and predictable, and the car sounds absolutely glorious, particularly with the top down. It’s a very comfortable long-distance touring car with great seats, overdrive, heater and a large boot — all of which make it my wife’s favorite. (She has driven it several hundred miles on her own.)
We have shown the car at a wide range of concours with excellent success, including Amelia Island, Mar-a-Lago (Cavallino), Greenwich, Watkins Glen Vintage Festival, Aston Martin Owners Club and the Lime Rock Rolex Vintage Festival. It doesn’t get any better than driving the DB4C several hundred miles to a show, detailing it, winning a significant trophy, and then driving it home!
Despite stable mates that include a ’54 Bentley Continental, a ’55 Gullwing, and a ’67 275 GTB4, this is usually the first pick by a large number of my garage visitors when I ask them “what shall we go for a ride in?” – and I never try to convince them otherwise.
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