In many ways, the DB4 is the model that foretold Aston Martin’s future. Introduced in 1958, the saloon was entirely new from the ground-up, sporting a newly designed platform chassis with four-wheel disc brakes and an all-new, Tadek Marek-designed, double-overhead camshaft, inline six-cylinder engine. These mechanicals were then cloaked in a stunning fastback saloon body, penned by Touring of Milan, which would come to define the marque for decades to come.

As the years progressed, Aston Martin continued to refine their star model, with marque aficionados today separating the DB4 into five distinct series. Upgrades to each successive series included subtle body modifications of recessed rear lights, a lower bonnet scoop, and new grille with vertical bars, in addition to the resolution of mechanical issues such as engine overheating.

Perhaps the most notable change was in 1961, when Aston Martin allowed customers to specify the Special Series, or “SS,” engine. This highly tuned powerplant was fitted with triple SU HD8 carburetors, larger valves, and a 9:1 compression ratio, and was quoted as developing 266 horsepower—an increase of 30 over the standard model.

The Aston Martin presented here, chassis DB4/965/L, is one of just 97 left-hand drive DB4s to be factory-equipped with the revered Special Series engine. Originally finished just as it presents today in Caribbean Pearl over black trim, DB4/965/L was built 11 May 1962 and dispatched to dealer Societe Nouvelle du Garage Mirabeau in France before being sold to its first owner, Henri Annecorde of Paris.

A copy of the car’s original build sheet details its extensive factory options, including the Special Series engine, overdrive, electric window lifts (power windows), chrome road wheels shod in Dunlop RS5 tires, DB4GT instrument panel with Smiths gauges, Armstrong shock absorbers, oil-cooler, and limited-slip differential with 3.77:1 gears.

After Annecorde’s curation, much of the car’s early life is unknown. Records indicate it passed to another French owner, Mr. Le Geuzec, before being sold back to the United Kingdom sometime before the 1980s. By 1988 a Mr. W.F. Gilbertson-Hart owned the DB4, and he appears to have sold the car through well-known Rolls-Royce dealer P&A Wood a few years later. In 1990 the car was registered to Ms. Susie Dixon Smith, who then became the married Susannah Mary Harris.

The DB4 was then acquired by an owner in the mid-2000s who commissioned a full restoration by noted specialists Aston Martin Works of Newport Pagnell, United Kingdom. Chassis DB4/965/L was meticulously restored to its delivery specification, save for the installation of a factory DB4GT high-performance radiator to further help with engine cooling. The original radiator is included in the sale, as is a book from Aston Martin Works detailing the car’s refurbishment.

Now in fully restored condition and accompanied by a build sheet confirming the car retains its matching-numbers SS engine, this 1962 Aston Martin DB4 is without question one of the finest Series IV SS examples available.