David Brown’s Speedback is an Aston Martin DB5 for 2014 (video)

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David Brown’s ‘classic’ car with Jaguar XKR underpinnings is a glorious-looking tribute to the classic Aston Martins of the 1960s.

Last month we revealed that the David Brown Automotive’s take on a classic, luxury British Sports Car would be based on the underpinnings of the Jaguar XKR, and we’d expected another classic E-type creation like the Lyonheart K being built by Envisage (as is the David Brown car).

In fact, the David Brown Speedback – for that is what David Brown is calling his company’s creation – looks instead like a classic Aston Martin from the 1960s – think DB5 or DB6 – with perhaps a few hints of Maserati and Ferrari from the same era too. And it looks great.

It’s a clever move by a man who shares a name with Aston Martin’s best-known owner (although he’s no relation) to create a car that evokes such iconic cars as the DB5, and its reveal has made us far less sceptical about its chances of succeeding where so many others have failed.

By using such proven, robust and appealing underpinnings as the (soon to be defunct) Jaguar XKR, David Brown is creating a proper classic GT – not a tubular chassis, garden shed special with a big American V8 that came in a crate – which will have the same sort of appeal as cars like the Lyonheart K – and maybe even the Eagle Speedster – which does sound like a recipe for success.

Word has it that David Brown is planning to build around 50 Speedbacks a year, a number which looks sensible if the price is right.

David Brown said:

The launch of Speedback is the realisation of a dream for me, and is the result of skillful and dedicated work by a team of highly talented designers, engineers and craftsmen. I am delighted at the reaction of the media, our suppliers, potential customers and friends, and I look forward to presenting the car to the public in Monaco.

So far, we have no word on price. But we’d expect it to be somewhere between the Lyonheart K and the Eagle E-Type Speedster to be competitive (£350-500k). And if it comes in cheaper, so much the better.

The David Brown Speedback will get its public reveal at the Top Marques show at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco from 17th to 20th April.