And They Don’t Even Have Air Conditioning: 1961 Aston Martin DB4 vs 1961 Ferrari 250PF

Good morning, and happy March 32nd to all those who celebrate! Today, I’m once again inflicting crappy old British and Italian sports cars upon you, and I make no apologies. But I know in the past some of you have complained that my selections are overpriced, and I think, just maybe, today you might be right.

But before we get to those, let’s finish up with Friday’s foursome. As expected, the little Civic took home the prize, with the Mini coming in a respectable second. The Probe got a few honorable mentions, but not enough votes, and the poor old Chevy truck came in dead last. Sure, you hate it now, but when you need someone to help you pick up that new sofa you bought because you’re too cheap to pay for delivery, you’ll all love the old crappy truck.

Seriously, though that Civic probably is the right choice here. It’s an appreciating classic, but not one so nice that you have to treat it with kid gloves, and it’s reliable enough to enjoy without having a tow truck follow you around all the time. A good scruffy classic is a fun car to have.

Which leads me to today’s choices. If you want to drive an old classic sports car on the weekends, obviously you’re going to have to sacrifice some things. You’ll have to be willing and able to drive a manual, for starters. And don’t expect any power assist for steering or brakes, either. Power mirrors? Forget it. CarPlay? Dream on. And of course there’s no air conditioning; better get those arm muscles in shape to roll down the windows – using manual cranks.

And for either of today’s choices, you’ll have to put in some work before you can even think of those Sunday drives. Which one is worth the trouble? Let’s take a look and see.

1961 Aston Martin DB4 – $325,000

Engine/drivetrain: 3.7-liter dual overhead cam inline 6, four-speed manual, RWD

Location: Astoria, NY

Odometer reading: 39,000 miles

Operational status: Engine runs, has not been driven since 1970

Typically, if an automaker fields a factory racing team, the goal is not to win races, but rather to promote its production cars. “Win on Sunday, sell on Monday” and all that. But plenty of marques, especially early on, have started out with race cars, with roadgoing cars coming later. Such was the case with Aston Martin, which has a rich racing history dating all the way back to 1913. That racing heritage is alive and well today, even after numerous financial disasters, bankruptcies, buyouts, and revivals.

This car, the DB4, dates from what might be called Aston’s “golden era.” Sir David Brown combined Aston Martin and British marque Lagonda, went racing again, and created a decade-plus-long line of beautiful roadgoing GT coupes, all with a powerful twin-cam inline six, a development of a Lagonda design, under the hood. One later version of this car, the DB5, became famous for having some extra options installed. This one has no machine guns or ejector seat; sorry.

This DB4 hasn’t been on the road in a while; more than fifty years, actually. The last known registration was in Florida in 1969. The engine has been started recently, however, which is step one. As someone who has brought a British sports car back to life after a long time off the road, I can tell you that there are a great many steps to go. But the sight of asphalt disappearing under that long bonnet, even in its rough state, will absolutely be worth it.

With a car like this, the question is always: To restore or not to restore? Do you keep all that hard-won original patina, sixty-three-year-old leather and wool, and dull chrome, and concentrate on the mechanicals, or disassemble it and spend years returning it to its original glory? If not for the primer paint on the right front corner, I would lean heavily in favor of preserving the patina. But as it sits? Maybe a restoration is the way to go.

1961 Ferrari 250 GT Cabriolet Pinin Farina – $1,295,000

Engine/drivetrain: 3.0-liter overhead cam V12, five-speed manual, RWD

Location: Newport Beach, CA

Odometer reading: 40,000 miles

Operational status: Runs and drives great

Like Aston, Ferrari got its start on the race track. And Enzo Ferrari famously only grudgingly sold cars to the public to fund his racing addiction. The upshot of this is that, especially in the early pre-Fiat days, Ferrari road cars were not much more than race cars with windshield wipers and turn signals. By the time this 250 GT Series II was built, a few more comfort and convenience touches had crept in, but it still uses the same screaming three-liter V12 engine as Ferrari race cars at the time, and beautiful styling by storied designer and coachbuilder Pininfarina.

The Ferrari “Colombo” V12 looks tiny in the engine bay; V12 engines typically use a 60-degree angle between cylinder banks instead of the 90 degrees commonly seen in V8 engines. This is a lean and mean engine anyway; it’s all aluminum and weighs about half as much as contemporary competing engines. This one runs flawlessly, according to the seller, and a video in the sale listing confirms that.

This car is being sold mid-restoration, and it sounds like it has been in that state for some time. Mechanically, it’s ready to go, and the interior is mostly done, but the bodywork is in primer gray, and a lot of it is still disassembled. The original color was called Nocciola, Italian for “hazelnut,” a lovely metallic gold/beige – a nice change from the sea of red Ferraris typically seen. Honestly, I’ve never been a fan of red cars anyway.

It includes a removable hardtop, if for some reason you don’t want to feel the wind in your hair and listen to that glorious V12 exhaust note echoing off the hillsides. A soft top is also included, among the boxes and boxes of parts that come with this car. What I don’t see in the photos is the rear window for the hardtop – but I’m sure any competent auto glass company has one in stock. Right?

Okay, sure; neither you nor I nor most mere mortals will ever get within drooling distance of cars like these, even in this condition. Rarity alone makes such an encounter unlikely; the Aston is one of 349, and the Ferrari one of about 200. Most of us will have to get our British and Italian sports car fixes from MGs and Triumphs and Fiats and Alfas. But what’s cool about those cars is that while the power and exclusivity are not there, the feel and the heritage is the same. But for today, let’s imagine that you do have the opportunity to acquire one of these fine classic projects. Which one will it be?

(Image credits: Hemmings sellers)