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The Italian coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, had already worked
successfully with Aston Martin on the DB4. So it was not surprising AML
asked Touring to style the body for MP220, the car which was to seat four
people in comfort and be powered by the forthcoming V8 engine. Their
design for the four seater was disappointing and by late 1965, the design
was cancelled in favour of William Towns DBS.
But, AML had also decided upon a new 170mph 2 seater sportscar to be unveiled
at the 1967 London Motor Show, and again, Touring was invited to style the
new vehicle, codenamed MP226. Two chassis were built, based on the DB6
chassis, but with de Dion rear suspension and capable of taking the forthcoming
V8 engine. Unfortunately by mid 1966, the economy had taken something of a
downward turn and demand for the DB6 had dipped considerably. So it was
decided that one way to stimulate sales was to bring the new car to the
Paris and London Motor Shows in September and October 1966 - one whole
year earlier than initially planned. Needless to say, Touring had to work
flat out so that an acceptable rolling shells could be displayed for the
shows. Initially, as the car was intended to be sold alongside the
DB6, plans were made for limited production - but this would have needed
much more development time and would have affected development on the
important four seater DBS. Another problem was that the long 6
cylinder engine could only have the cylinder head removed with the engine
out of the car - it had to be fitted so far back that it was hard against
the bulkhead. So the Touring cars were cancelled - and a short while
later, Touring of Milan ceased trading. Two cars were completed; the car
shown here is the second example (LHD) and was photographed in the
reception at Works Service ai Newport Pagnell.
Initially, when the cars was first shown, they were called 'DBS'. When
the true production DBS was shown a year later in 1967, the Touring prototypes were
re-named as DBSC to avoid confusion.
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