Development of Aston Martin's V8 engine began in 1963 as a replacement for the six cylinder engines which had powered every model of Aston Martin since the 1950 DB2. In 1966 design work began on a new GT model and both car and engine were to be unleashed on the public in October 1967. With barely twelve months to complete the car, Aston Martin pulled it off, and the DBS was born. The DBS car was one of the fastest, safest and greatest cars of its generation. It would set the benchmark, not just for the next thirty years of Aston Martins, but also its competitors in the GT class. The last of the 5,016 V8-powered cars, a Volante Special Edition, left the factory on 20 October 2000, ending an era for Aston Martin.