Newly formed car maker David Brown Automotive (DBA) has revealed the fruits of its recent labours, a car that is effectively a tribute to the classic sixties Aston Martin DB5. Based on the chassis and engine of a current Jaguar XKR, the Speedback is intended to be a motorised homage to one of the most famous cars of all time. The classic DB5 made its name as the transport of choice of sixties icons such as Paul McCartney and, of course, a certain Commander Bond.
The David Brown behind this eponymous car maker is actually a Yorkshire businessman who came up with the idea of producing a car with classic looks but modern mechanicals when his Ferrari Daytona kept breaking down in the south of France. He has no connection with the 'other' David Brown – the tractor magnate who bought Aston Martin up in the 1950s and lent his DB initials to a whole family of racing and road-going sports cars.
The Speedback uses the same supercharged 510hp V8 engine as the Jaguar upon which it is based and can accelerate from 0-100kmh in a claimed 4.8secs. Its top speed is limited to 250kmh. The body, which is hand-formed from sheets of aluminium in the classic coach building style, has been designed by Alan Mobberly, whose previous credits include work for Land Rover, Humber and British Leyland, where he is said to have been part of the team that styled the unloved Morris Marina.
Inside, although the car uses much of the basic architecture of the standard Jaguar (including, rather obviously, the steering wheel and touch-screen satnav) there is also a lot of bespoke work on display, including unique switchgear made from a new process called Direct Metal Laser Sintering. This process builds up components from nickel alloy melted and shaped by lasers in layers only 63-microns thick (less than the thickness of a sheet of paper). DBA claims that the Speedback is the first car to employ the technology.
The elephant in the room though is the juxtaposition of both the David Brown name and the obvious visual links to the original Aston Martin DB5. Speaking to Autocar magazine, David Brown himself said that “I haven’t invited any feedback from Aston Martin. I’m not looking for their sanction on our product, nor to leverage off the other DB. This car will be what people perceive it to be, and happens to be funded and managed by a chap called David Brown.” When we contacted Aston Martin for a comment on the car, all a spokesperson would give us was a terse “we don’t generally comment on such matters.”
Assuming Aston Martin doesn’t place any legal hurdles in its way, David Brown Automotive will launch the Speedback at the Top Marques show in Monaco in April The price is being mystically referred to as between STG£100,000 and STG£1-million but plans are in place for production of up to 20 cars per year, assuming DBA can find suitable factory space.
