'For many Aston Martin enthusiasts the DB4 was the best of the post-war cars.

Previous cars were lacking in power while the later DB5 and DB6 put on weight and were more like fast tourers than high-speed thoroughbreds – and amongst the DB4s the DB4GT was the most thorough all-round Grand Touring car of the lot...' – Mike Twite, 'Motors', 1967.

Launched at the London Motor Show in 1958, the Aston Martin DB4 emphatically demonstrated that a British manufacturer could better the Italians at their own game when it came to constructing the ultimate Gran Turismo .

Its specification included a completely new steel platform chassis with disc brakes all round, and a race-developed twin-cam six-cylinder engine, all clothed in a perfectly proportioned aluminium body designed by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan.

Overall, the DB4 was state-of-the-art for its time, a masterpiece of robust British engineering combined with exquisite Italian styling.

Engineered under the watchful eye of Harold Beech,...