Aston Martin DB6 Buyer's Guide
The DB6 is the last and most usable of the classic six-cylinder Astons: longer than the DB5, with proper rear seats and the Kamm tail that made it stable at speed. Our two sales frame the market from both ends: £88,000 for a 1967 DB6 Vantage sold as a project and £205,920 for a 1967 Mk I Vantage with a 4.2-litre engine. Between them sit unsold saloons estimated at £140,000–160,000 and £158,000–185,000, and a Mk 2 Volante built to Vantage specification estimated at £450,000–550,000.
Know your versions
The DB6 ran from 1965 to 1970. Its wheelbase is 3.75 inches longer than the DB5's, the roofline is higher and the tail cut off with an integral spoiler. The 4.0-litre six gave 282bhp, or about 325bhp in Vantage form with triple Weber carburettors; a five-speed ZF manual or Borg-Warner automatic was fitted, and power steering became an option. The Volante convertible followed in 1966. The Mk 2 of 1969–70 adopted the DBS's wider wheels with flared arches and offered AE Brico fuel injection, which few cars kept. Many engines have since been enlarged to 4.2 litres, as on our top result.
What to pay
Two sales: £88,000 for a Vantage needing restoration, and £205,920 for a Mk I Vantage with the 4.2-litre engine. Live and recent estimates fill in the middle: £140,000–160,000, £150,000–250,000 and £158,000–185,000 for saloons, with a seller's asking price of £144,144 on a withdrawn 1966 car. Volantes sit in a separate tier, as the £450,000–550,000 estimate shows. On our evidence, around £150,000 buys a sound saloon, project cars start below £100,000 and still need the difference spending, and Vantage specification and manual gearboxes add real money.
What goes wrong
Corrosion is the DB6's expense. The steel platform chassis rusts in the sills, floors and outriggers, and the aluminium body panels corrode electrolytically where they meet steel. A project at £88,000 can need well over £100,000 to finish properly, which is why finished cars cost what they do. Engines are robust when rebuilt but costly when tired; the ZF manual is strong, the automatic is cheaper to buy but less sought after, and the limited-slip differential should be checked. Insist on a specialist inspection and a history file that names the restorer.
Our view
The DB6 gives you the DB5's look and engine with more space, better high-speed manners and, on our evidence, a meaningful discount. Buy the best-documented Vantage saloon the budget allows, avoid the project unless you are buying the restoration rather than the car, and remember that the Volantes are a different, rarer market.
