Chassis reconversion
As has already been noted, the Aston Martin DBS for years remained in the shadow of its more sought-after ancestors, the DB4, DB5 and DB6. In fact, up until fairly recently a DBS could still be bought for little money and its lack of notoriety made it an ideal base for amateurs wishing to use it to create a copy of a more illustrious model. The DBS provided easy way to pick up a cheap original Aston Martin chassis with or without an engine.
As a result, over the years numerous DBS chassis have been modified to provide a basis for the recreation of the famous Aston Martin DBR2, DB3S and DB4GT Zagato models. On the technical front, some of these recreations have been very well produced. Others which are just a caricature of the original have left many fans of Aston Martin cars and particularly the DBS feeling rather perplexed. Although it is true that in many respects these recreations could be viewed as « sacrilege », certain specialists agree that if the work has been properly executed to a high standard, then such a view is peremptory. However, this is a complex and delicate subject and it is impossible to say who is right and who is wrong. It is really up to each individual to make their own decision after observing these recreations.
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| DB3S replica on DBS/5017/R chassis | ||
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| DB3S replica on DBS/5307/RAC chassis | ||
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| DBR2 replica on DBS/5314/LAC chassis | ||
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| DB4GT Zagato replica on DBS/5430/LC chassis | ||
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| DB4GT Zagato replica on DBS FI/5577/R chassis | ||
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| DBR2 replica on DBS/5631/R chassis | ||
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| DB3S replica on DBS/5783/R chassis | ||
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| DB3S replica on DBS/5803/R chassis | ||
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| DBR2 replica on DBS/5806/R chassis |
"DBSZ Concept"
« DBSZ Concept » is an unusual and surprising initiative created by Brooklands Classic Cars in Australia (http://www.brooklandscc.com), which originally specialised in the Australian classic car market. Situated halfway between a traditional copy and an original creation, the idea was to use a DBS chassis to build a car strongly influenced by the famous DB4GT Zagato. Although the final product has larger proportions than the original « DBSZ », it benefits from a more modern chassis and from the DBS’s De Dion rear axel arrangement.
Each vehicle is individually built using either a right hand or left hand drive DBS 6 or DBS V8 car with either manual or automatic gearbox. The work is carried out for Brooklands Classic Cars Pty Limited by the Van Duin Design and Fabrication Company (http://www.vanduindesign.com), also based in Australia and which is a local specialist in the restoration of classic vehicles.
To date only two DBSZ cars are known to have been built. One is in British Racing Green and was built using chassis DBS/5169/R, while the is black and built on chassis DBS/5392/R. Both are right hand drive cars with manual gearboxes. Below are photos of both DBSZ cars, and the sales brochure describing the concept.
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| "DBSZ Concept" on DBS/5169/R chassis | ||
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| "DBSZ Concept" on DBS/5392/R chassis | ||
"DBSZ Concept" commercial brochures
| dbsz-concept-1.pdf | dbsz-concept-2.pdf |