All moviegoers know this cult shot: the beginning of Alfred Hitchcock’s Birds (Birds in the text), the arrival of Tippi Hedren at the Potter School, a panoramic view from the sky following the convertible on the road to the corniche , along the Pacific, in the sumptuous setting of Bodega Bay north of San Francisco, then a few images in the streets of the village before stopping in front of the wooden building, an example of colonial architecture.
Tippi Hedren is driving an Aston Martin DB 2/4 Drophead Coupé. This would be chassis # LML/944 that Universal Studios rented for the film in 1963.
The DB2 gave way to the DB2/4 in October 1953. The habitability went from two to four places thanks to the modification of the design of the passenger compartment. Bodywork was done by Mulliners, a Birmingham firm not to be confused with its namesakes, Arthur Mulliner and HJ Mulliner.
Very old, it began by making couplings in the 19th century. Final assembly took place at the Aston Martin factory in Farsley near Leeds, Yorkshire, where David Brown tractors are manufactured.
Initially, the DB2/4 is powered by the VB6E engine (2.6 liters 125 hp) which corresponds to the Vantage option of the DB2. From April 1954, it received the VB6J (2.9 liters 140 hp).
As a convertible (Drophead Coupe), with only 102 cars produced, the DB2/4 is much rarer than as a coupe (saloon, 451 units) and as a convertible, 102 units).
Marked by the car, Tippi Hedren will marry Noel Marshall in 1964. However, this American craftsman manufactures polyester hulls inspired by the concept car Buick Wildcat II under the Bangert Enterprises brand.
By passing from DB2 to DB2/4, the convertible has lost none of its elegance.
