Tag Archives: aston martin

DB2/4 by Bertone

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Coupe by Bertone

Offered by RM Sotheby’s | New York, New York | December 8, 2023

Photo Courtesy of RM Sotheby’s

The DB2 was Aston’s first real post-war car, as they only made 15 DB1s. In 1953, the DB2 was heavily revised for a new model call the DB2/4, which would remain on sale through 1957. Three factory body styles existed: drophead coupe, two-seat coupe, and 2+2 hatchback. But a number of coachbuilt versions were also produced.

Among them are a some really striking designs by Bertone. There were seven Bertone DB2/4s in total (out of a production run of 764 total DB2/4s), and all of them were commissioned by Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt. This was the only coupe among them.

RM’s write-up makes no mention of the engine, but it’s a 2.9-liter inline-six, the larger of two engines offered during the model’s run. The restoration of the car started in 2019 and completed in time for Pebble Beach in 2023. The estimate here is $1,200,000-$1,600,000. Click here for more info.

Two-Door Lagonda

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1986 Aston Martin Virage Coupe Prototype

Offered by Bonhams | Goodwood, U.K. | September 9, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin Virage debuted for 1989 and was produced in its boxy gloriousness through 2000. But it wasn’t this boxy. This prototype wasn’t meant to signal the design language of the company’s upcoming near-supercar, it was just convenient to use a shortened Lagonda as a test mule.

But it also allows us to see the answer to the question “What if they made a two-door Lagonda.” Well, it’s kinda neat. Sure, it definitely looks like its been chopped a bit, but you can also still kind of see the upcoming Virage in its shape and front end.

It was powered by a 5.3-liter V8 and, after testing duty, was parked in the service department, only to be spotted by an Aston customer who wanted to buy it. It was overhauled by the factory and fitted with a contemporary Virage engine in 1993. It’s a pretty neat, one-off thing, and it can be yours for between $315,000-$440,000. Click here for more info.

DB2/4 Indiana Spider

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Indiana Spider by Bertone

Offered by Gooding & Company | London, U.K. | September 1, 2023

Photo – Gooding & Company

This car looks like a toy. It certainly looks different from other DB2/4s, with its more aggressive grille and fixed, rounded windshield frame. The car was styled by Franco Scaglione at Bertone and was built for Stanley “Wacky” Arnolt of Arnolt-Bristol (among others) fame.

The DB2/4 is powered by a 2.9-liter inline-six with twin SU carburetors for a factory-rated 140 horsepower. In the early 1950s, Arnolt partnered with Bertone to build the Arnolt-MG. In 1953, he then acquired eight DB2/4 chassis that he was going to have custom-bodied by Bertone to then sell as Arnolt-Astons.

Six of those were actually built, one disappeared, and the last one, this car, was bodied by Bertone to be Arnolt’s personal Aston Martin. It’s had many owners since and was most recently restored under 20 years ago. It now has an estimate of $1,500,000-$2,250,000. Click here for more info.

Aston DB2/4

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1954 Aston Martin DB2/4

Offered by Bonhams | Brussels, Belgium | May 13, 2023

Photo – Bonhams

The DB2 was the first post-war Aston produced in significant numbers. A two-seater, it was replaced in 1953 by a 2+2 coupe. Called the DB2/4, the new car would be on sale through 1957 and would also be offered as a two-seat drophead coupe and a two-seat fixed-head coupe.

Power is provided by 2.6-liter inline-six that was rated at 125 horsepower. Later, a 2.9-liter unit would be available. Just 764 examples of the DB2/4 would be built, 565 of which were Mark I examples like this. The Mark II went on sale in 1955 with more power.

This car was sold new in Switzerland and was restored about 25 years ago. Still, it is said to require further work before being declared roadworthy. It carries a pre-sale estimate of $90,000-$155,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $146,300.

DB5

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1964 Aston Martin DB5

Offered by Historics Auctioneers | London, U.K. | February 25, 2023

Photo – Historics Auctioneers

This is what you would call an absolute classic in its classic color. The DB5 was the James Bond car – so much so that it continues to pop up in later films. It was introduced in 1963 and sort of had an evolutionary design compared to that of the DB4 it replaced. In 1965, it was replaced by the DB6, which looked even more similar to the DB5 than the DB5 did to the DB4.

Power is from a 4.0-liter inline-six that was rated at 282 horsepower. That was enough for 145 mph, and Vantage options pushed power to over 300 horses. Convertibles and shooting brakes were also sold, although the latter were coachbuilt. But the 2+2 coupe is the most classic.

The alloy coachwork is from Touring Superleggera. Just 1,059 units were produced, and this was a British-market example that received a two-year restoration after 2017. The estimate is $590,000-$645,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $760,126.

’96 Aston Vantage

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1996 Aston Martin Vantage Coupe

Offered by Bonhams | London, U.K. | December 16, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The Aston Martin Virage debuted in 1989 at a low point for Aston Martin. These were pretty exclusive cars, with about 40 made on average each year. In 1993, the Vantage showed up, wearing pretty much the same bodywork but with a twin-supercharged 5.3-liter V8. Output was rated at 550 horsepower. This thing was a monster in the early 1990s.

Top speed was around 191 mph. The craziest part was this was the base Vantage. There were more extreme versions than this. Meanwhile Ford took over Aston and put the DB7 into production with an inline-six. It’s like it was from a different company than whoever created this thing.

Just 280 examples of the Vantage coupe were produced. A true supercar with grand touring proportions, this Vantage carries an estimate of $75,000-$125,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Sold $124,424.

The Best DB7

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2000 Aston Martin DB7 Vantage Volante

Offered by Aguttes | Paris, France | December 14, 2022

Photo – Aguttes

Dream spec. Fact: the Aston Martin DB7 is one of the best-looking cars of all time. And when they dropped a V12 under the hood and tweaked the styling a bit, they really ended up with a winner. Add on top of that the fact that this one is a drop top finished in Almond Green with over a beige and green interior… perfection.

The Vantage-specification DB7 went on sale in 1999 and featured a 5.9-liter V12 (as opposed to the earlier DB7’s straight-six) that made 420 horsepower. This manual-transmission car was capable of 60 mph in five seconds when new.

Having covered less than 10,000 miles since new, this Volante is a keeper. It has a pre-sale estimate of $73,000-$94,000. Click here for more info.

Update: Not sold.

Aston DB3

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1952 Aston Martin DB3

Offered by Bonhams | Chicester, U.K. | September 27, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

The DB3 was Aston Martin’s sports racing car for the early ’50s, with the cars being built in 1951 and 1952. It was their first post-war purpose-designed race car and was usurped by the somewhat-prettier and more famous DB3S in 1953. This car is number five of 10 built, and the the first five were all Aston team race cars. The remainder of the run were sold to privateers.

The first cars were powered by a 2.6-liter Lagonda inline-six, and later cars got a 2.9-liter version of the same powerplant that was good for up to 163 horsepower. This chassis has period competition history as a works racer, including:

  • 1952 24 Hours of Le Mans – 19th, DNF (with Lance Macklin and Peter Collins)
  • 1953 12 Hours of Sebring – 2nd (with George Abecassis and Reg Parnell)
  • 1953 Mille Miglia – DNF (with Abecassis)

The nose was damaged during the Mille Miglia DNF. The entire body was removed, and the rolling chassis was sold to a driver who fitted a closed body. It wasn’t until 1990 that the car was restored with an original-style DB3 body. Now, this incredibly rare 1950s race car is offered with “estimate upon request.” You can read more about it here.

Update: Not sold.

Aston Virage Wagon

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1993 Aston Martin Virage Shooting Brake

Offered by Bonhams | Paris, France | February 3, 2022

Photo – Bonhams

Aston Martin was not at a particularly strong point in their history when they introduced the Virage at the tail end of the 1980s. This was just as their former models, which dated back to the 60s, were being phased out. The Virage would spawn the Vantage and eventually be sold as the “V8” alongside early DB7s.

The factory body style was a four-seat coupe. But this “Shooting Brake” (c’mon, it’s got four doors. You can call it a wagon) is one of seven such cars built by the factory for customers who demanded a little more versatility out of their sports cars. There were a few three-door versions as well, but only seven apparently got the four-door treatment. This was the first, and it’s shorter in length than the later ones.

Another thing Aston did was offer the upcoming Vantage’s 6.3-liter V8 as an option. And this car has it. It was rated at 456 horsepower when new. The whole build is a pretty much custom deal, with a 12″ stretch and a manual gearbox conversion. Certainly not something you see everyday, this Virage wagon is expected to bring between $170,000-$290,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Sold $169,742.

Vanquish Zagato Speedster

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2018 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato Speedster Storck Vintage

Offered by Bonhams | Knokke-Heist, Belgium | October 10, 2021

Photo – Bonhams

That’s quite the name, isn’t it? There’s a lot to break down. First, the second-generation Vanquish was produced by Aston Martin by 2012 through 2018. It was replaced by the DBS Superleggera. Then there’s the Zagato aspect. Aston teamed with Zagato for a limited run of Vanquish models at the end of the the gen 2’s run.

There was a one-off Zagato Roadster during the first-generation’s run, but it never reached production. This time around, there were four Zagato models to choose from: coupe, convertible, shooting brake, and Speedster. Only 99 were built of each, except the Speedster. This is #25 of just 28 Speedsters.

Power is from a 5.9-liter V12 rated at 595 horsepower, which was good enough for a sprint to 60 of 3.5 seconds on the way to a 201-mph top end.

Storck Bicycle is a German bicycle company headed by designer Markus Storck. He collaborated with Aston for a limited run of seven Vanquish coupes, and he was brought back for three special Speedsters, including this, the Vintage. It added some special paint and trim touches – and a bit chunk of change to the final price when new.

The car is essentially brand new and is expected to sell for between $1,000,000-$1,500,000. Click here for more info and here for more from this sale.

Update: Not sold.