Neither shaken nor stirred

Aston Martin DB4. Photo / Supplied

Secret agent James Bond's gimmicky DB5 might have won all the headlines recently but purists are eyeing a more modest and original Aston Martin.

A 50-year-old DB4, the car widely recognised as being responsible for establishing Aston Martin's reputation as a road car specialist, comes up for auction in Britain next month.

It doesn't have an ejector seat, machine guns, rotating licence plates and wheel cutters, and it won't sell for anywhere near the $4.1 million that 007's DB5 got.

But it is a treasured original at a time when the Aston Martin badge is hot property among high-end car collectors.

The DB4 laid the groundwork for the celebrated DB5. The car up for sale is one of only 1110 made, from between 1958 and 1963.

Its lightweight tubular frame helped it become the first production car to go from a standing start to 160km/h and back in under 30 seconds.

It ran a 180kW 3.7-litre straight-six engine good for a zero to 100km/h sprint time of 8.6 seconds, a revelation at the time. Top speed was 225km/h.

It continued Aston Martin's racing pedigree but through a combination of dynamic performance and Italian-style appearance, became the accepted "driver's" model.

DB4/796/R was registered in Britain on November 9, 1961. Factory options fitted included overdrive, chrome wheels, electric windows and heated rear light.

It has had four owners in almost 50 years. The logbook accounts for every one of the 116,000km on the clock. The auction house expects the DB4 to sell for around $300,000. Back in 1961 it cost £3967.