1971 ASTON MARTIN DBS V8 vs HAWKER HUNTER

- part 2 - Dave Clarkson

Among Britain's top car and plane makers, two enjoyed similar routes

to producing the best in their respective fields.

As a follow-up on the article by Ron Wheeldon on the Aston Martin DBS V8 published in "Drive" in January 1991, the Aston, at that time owned by Trevor Carter, was subsequently sold to Alan Nash, who owned it for a number of years before being acquired by myself in 1995. I'm not a fan of automatic cars, especially not in a sports car, and after having taken the DBS (which is manual) for a test drive, I was hooked! As Ron said in his article in 'Drive', there certainly are not enough superlatives to describe this particular model, which was the only manual in the

country at the time.

When Webber Wentzel Bowens Attorneys sponsored the appearance of Ron's Hawker Hunter T Mk 68 at the Swartkops Air Show on 22nd April 2000, Ron invited me for a head-to-head contest  with the Mk 68 down the runway. The following article appeared in Issue no 3/2000 of "CARS IN ACTION'.

"BULLDOG BEST" - Hawker Hunter F Mk 58 vs Aston Martin DBS V8

"Wings & Wheels" - John Smith looks at the Hawker Hunter and Aston Martin DBS V8

Shortly after the Great War, two new names emerged which would become the pride of the British nation for the remainder of the century. The Liquidated Sopwith Aeroplane Company was reborn as Hawker, and the Singer Car agents Bamford and Martin started producing their own cars named Aston Martin.

The firm struggled financially and produced less than seven hundred 1,5 and 2 litre cars up until the outbreak of WW2. Hawker prospered when new developments in aircraft design forced the military to purchase new equipment, culminating in the immortal Hurricane.

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