006 | Rebirth
‘For me, it was a case of taking something that’s British and iconic and making it a little more contemporary.’
IN THE AUTUMN OF 2016, at the end of its painstaking restoration, DB5/2266/L roared into joyous life and nosed out of the Cars International workshops for an early ‘shakedown’ test – and then for a photoshoot with British automotive photographer Amy Shore on the Berkshire lanes. It was quite a moment – for Hamish Hamilton, and for Tim Preston and his team who had spent more than a year bringing the Aston back to its full original glory. Original, that is, apart from one obvious and wholly intentional omission… ‘I LIKE TO PUT A LITTLE TWIST ON THINGS, and I decided to do this car without the chrome,’ says Hamish. ‘For me, it was a case of taking something that’s British and iconic and making it a little more contemporary. But I kept it white because I wanted to retain the purity of the car’s story – I didn’t want to put too much of my mark on it!’
And, as Tim Preston points out: ‘The bumpers are still with the car, and the mountings are all there, so they can be fitted if Hamish – or a future owner – wants to refit them at some point.’ That purity also extends to the Aston’s mechanical specification, with none of the modern upgrades – power steering, bigger brakes, uprated rear suspension with telescopic dampers – that are of applied retrospectively to cars of this period. And it really shows in the way DB5/2266/L drives. THERE’S A REAL PHYSICAL CONNECTION HERE, and much more effort and deliberation is required than in a modern car or even an uprated classic. That extends from steering to braking, and the gearchange, too, which requires a careful, precise hand to guide it around the ‘gate’. ‘You have to drive at a certain pace in a classic,’ says Hamish. ‘You have to really engage with it. ‘Maybe I should have gone with power steering. I still might… but WE’VE KEPT IT TOTALLY TRUE TO THE ORIGINAL SPECIFICATION, SO ITS COMPLETELY AUTHENTIC.’ Tim Preston believes this was the correct approach for DB5/2266/L. ‘Personally, I prefer authentic restorations, which are true to the way the car was originally built, and not all the glitz and glamour that you sometimes see.
‘Authentic also means they’re not like modern cars. You need a bit of skill. YOU ACTUALLY HAVE TO DRIVE THESE THINGS!’ Which makes it all the more rewarding when you slot a gearchange cleanly or set the car up on tiptoes to slice through a sequence of corners with minimal steering effort, just like they used to in the DB5’s heyday. And all the while that big-hearted straightsix responding like a living thing, sucking air noisily through its carburettors’ throats, power swelling as the revs pile on, exhaust note compressing to a brassy blare just before the next gearchange. Truly stirring stuff.
