The Aston Martin DB4 to DB6, as well as their predecessors, are among the most elegant and interesting sports cars of the post-war era. They were built in limited quantities and are now sought-after collectors' vehicles.
There is no shortage of books on the subject, but Etienne Dricot found that the books available were either too technical or too artistic. He has now produced an alternative, 500 pages long, divided into two volumes and bound in an elegant slipcase, for EUR 380.00 in total. Compared to the price of a DB4 (today around EUR 300,000 to 600,000), this does not seem outrageous, but the purchase still needs to be well considered.
Meticulous and persistent
The author, who is primarily a photographer, and his co-author Philip Blesin, who sadly passed away in 2017, were certainly not lacking in zeal. They collected and researched for years. Countless collectors and owners were visited and a large number of vehicles were photographed in detail.
In the foreword, Dircot mentions over 70,000 km that he has covered over the years and over 2000 hours of photo sessions. The effort was well worth it.
Picture-perfect
Rather than endless technical descriptions, the author prefers to use pictures to explain the characteristics of the vehicles and the differences between the individual series.
The fact that the pictures were (almost) all taken by a single source proves to be a huge advantage. This makes many comparisons possible that would probably not have worked with different styles of photography. The style of photography is somewhat reminiscent of auction house catalogs. The car is always in focus and the background should distract as little as possible.
Type by type, series by series
Volume 1 explains the models of the DB2 series. The thicker volume 2 is then responsible for explaining the DB4 to DB6 series. Special bodies are deliberately left out, neither Zagato, Bertone nor Touring Superleggiera variants are discussed.
Nevertheless, 135 different cars are covered, left- and right-hand drive variants are discussed and open/closed versions are discussed.
To this end, the peculiarities of each series and model maintenance are explained and documented with plenty of pictures. The fact that this often has to be done with restored vehicles is a certain risk, but the author has mitigated this with his extensive research. A few historical photos and illustrations of original documents from the time supplement the author's own visual material.
Large tables are missing, but smaller overviews are available. A list of reference works that the author used for his work is valuable, even if it should be more detailed, especially with regard to car magazines.
For enthusiasts, restorers, buyers and, of course, owners
This English-language DB "bible" is certainly not aimed at partially interested readers, but at real enthusiasts or even owners or buyers of one of the Aston Martin models shown. Restorers are also likely to benefit from the wealth of images. For these readers, the EUR 380.00 mentioned is also fine; there is probably no need to worry about sales of the two-volume set.
Bibliographical information
- Title: The Essence - From DB2 to DB6
- Author: Etienne Dricot
- Language: English
- Publisher: Self-published
- Format: Hardcover, two volumes in slipcase, 31 cm x 27 cm, 5 kg
- Scope: Around 500 pages, 1400 photos
- ISBN: 978-99959-0-455-5
- Price: EUR 380.00
- Buy/order: on the author's website
