How do you follow a legend? Ask any athlete who has had to step in after a legend retires and they will say it is all but impossible. There is no way to live up to what or who you replace.
In the mid 1960s Aston Martin was faced with the problem of replacing the legendary DB5. Not only was this a quality touring car with speed, performance and luxury, it was also the car driven by secret agent James Bond, first in the classic film
Goldfinger.
Aston Martin knew they needed to come up with something worthy of that iconic movie hero. They first turned to the renowned design house of Touring of Milan for ideas. The proposals were rejected and so the firm turned in house to find a replacement.
In 1965 the car was shown at the London Motor Show and received mixed reviews. Performance wise the car was a work of art, with less wind resistance, more power and therefore, more speed, topping out at near 150 miles per hour. But the looks were already dated when it was introduced. The car looked a great deal like the model it was replacing. The areas that were different, such as the Kamm styled rear end, looked as though it had been borrowed from a recent Ferrari 250.
Despite all of the negativity regarding its looks, the DB6 became the longest running model to date for Aston, rolling off the lines until 1971. Sales, though not brisk, were satisfactory as people were obviously choosing performance over looks. Though the DB6 wasn't ever chosen by James Bond, it was a suitable follow-up to the legendary DB5 until Aston Martin turned out the next Bond car, the DBS.
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