'Anyone wondering why Aston Martin bother to make their own vee-8 when so many big American ones are so cheaply available need take only one look at the performance data...

for the best explanation in the world.

Whatever the undisclosed output of the Aston V8, it is enough to rocket this heavy car to 60mph from rest in exactly six seconds and to 100mph in only 14.7 seconds.

Much more than this, we were able to reach 138 mph from rest in a mile and on the Continent record a mean maximum speed of 161.5 mph.' - Autocar, 8 July 1971.

Although always intended to house the new Tadek Marek-designed V8 engine, the DBS had first appeared with the 4.0-litre 'six' of the concurrently produced DB6.

Styled in-house by Bill Towns, the four-seater DBS employed a platform-type chassis with independent suspension all round: wishbone and coil-spring at the front, De Dion with Watts linkage at the rear.

Bigger and more luxuriously appointed than the DB6, the heavyweight DBS disappointed some by vir...