The Aston Martin DB2/4 makes for classic car motoring even the gods would be proud of. Here's why you want one... 

The Aston Martin DB2/4 is an expensive car designed to cater for the connoisseur of sports cars who is not limited by financial considerations' so wrote the The Autocar, October 2, 1953. Widening the appeal of the DB2, the DB2/4 from October 1953 had four-seats for the sportscar enthusiast with family, created by adding two occasional folding rear seats and raising the roof line, the resulting flat deck and opening rear door creating possibly the earliest form of hatchback. Modifications to the rear of the chassis plus a reduction in fuel tank capacity from 19 to 17 gallons also contributed to the liberation of enough space for the extra seats. A one-piece windscreen replaced the split-screen and a full set of bumpers were also provided. Standard specification included the 125bhp 2.6-litre twin OHC 'W.O. Bentley' engine, but from 1954 the larger bore 3-litre 140bhp engine was installed, providing 118mph top speed and 60mph in around 11 seconds. The Aston Martin DB2/4 was one of the fastest cars then built in Great Britain - with 100mph in third gear and around 120mph maximum - with impeccable handling plus a level of comfort then rare in any high-performance car.