5th Dec, 2012 18:00
Newbury Racecourse
1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 2.9 Litre Saloon
Estimated at £110,000 - £130,000
Lot details
Registration No: NDA 377
Chassis No: LML/730
Mot Expiry: Oct 2013
"The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a sports car with a very definite appeal. It has full saloon car comfort, coupled with performance and roadholding of a very high order" (Autocar Magazine)
Introduced at the October 1953 London Motor Show, the DB2/4 represented a new breed of longer-legged, more accommodating Aston Martin. Some seven inches longer and a little taller than its predecessor, the fitting of a smaller seventeen gallon fuel tank (still good for circa 300 miles) plus some minor platform changes liberated enough room for two small seats to be positioned above the back axle. Visually distinguished by a one-piece windscreen and rear hatchback, the new model boasted such niceties as a telescopic steering column and adjustable backrests. Panelled in lightweight aluminium over an advanced tubular frame chassis, its independent front suspension featured a sophisticated trailing link, coil-sprung set-up tempered by an anti-roll bar, while at the rear a Panhard rod assisted radius arms in keeping the coil-sprung beam axle firmly tied down. Initially powered by a 2580cc version of the famous Willie Watson / W.O. Bentley designed DOHC straight-six engine, the adoption of a larger 83mm bore size saw capacity rise to 2922cc in mid 1954. Credited with 140bhp and 178lbft of torque in standard tune, the DB2/4 3-litre was reputedly capable of 120mph. Overshadowed by its racing DB3 / DB3S siblings, the model still enjoyed a successful competition career winning the team prize on the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally. Only available in two-door saloon or drophead coupe guises, a mere 565 DB2/4 MKIs are thought to have left the Feltham Works.
According to its accompanying copy Aston Martin Ltd (AML) Build Sheet and Service Records, this particular MKI 3 Litre example - chassis number LML/730 - was delivered new to Cyril Williams Motors Ltd of Wolverhampton for use as a demonstrator on 18th June 1954. Equipped with an optional twin exhaust system and upgraded Alfin bi-metal drums, it was purchased by A. Alsop Esq. of Newport during August 1955. Passing to P.M. Rambaut Esq. of Carlisle thereafter, the DB2/4 is known to have covered some 23,000 miles up until July 1956 when its factory Service Records ended.
Whether there were further owners during the intervening period is unknown, but the next recorded keeper is a Mr R. Van Waring of the Netherlands. He acquired the Aston Martin in 1981 and sold it to fellow countryman Dr S. P. Van Bemnelen some four years later. Something of a globetrotter, chassis LML/730 was exported from Japan to the UK in February 2012. Entering the current ownership not long after its arrival on these shores, the DB2/4 has since undergone a thorough mechanical and cosmetic debugging programme. The associated bills are not gargantuan but make no allowance for all the man hours that the vendor has himself invested in the car; the results of which speak for themselves.
The car has self-evidently been treated to an extensive restoration in the not too distant past but unfortunately the related paperwork is no longer with it. Resplendent in Gloss Black with Beige leather upholstery, the DB2/4 boasts matching engine and chassis numbers. Pleasingly, the car's original registration number - 'NDA 377' - remains available and could be reunited with it should a new owner so wish. Worthy of close inspection and potentially eligible for such prestigious events as the Mille Miglia Storica, this handsome Aston Martin is offered for sale with history file, MOT certificate valid until October 2013 and the aforementioned Alfin bi-metal drum brakes (which have been retained as spares).
Registration No: NDA 377
Chassis No: LML/730
Mot Expiry: Oct 2013
"The Aston Martin DB2/4 is a sports car with a very definite appeal. It has full saloon car comfort, coupled with performance and roadholding of a very high order" (Autocar Magazine)
Introduced at the October 1953 London Motor Show, the DB2/4 represented a new breed of longer-legged, more accommodating Aston Martin. Some seven inches longer and a little taller than its predecessor, the fitting of a smaller seventeen gallon fuel tank (still good for circa 300 miles) plus some minor platform changes liberated enough room for two small seats to be positioned above the back axle. Visually distinguished by a one-piece windscreen and rear hatchback, the new model boasted such niceties as a telescopic steering column and adjustable backrests. Panelled in lightweight aluminium over an advanced tubular frame chassis, its independent front suspension featured a sophisticated trailing link, coil-sprung set-up tempered by an anti-roll bar, while at the rear a Panhard rod assisted radius arms in keeping the coil-sprung beam axle firmly tied down. Initially powered by a 2580cc version of the famous Willie Watson / W.O. Bentley designed DOHC straight-six engine, the adoption of a larger 83mm bore size saw capacity rise to 2922cc in mid 1954. Credited with 140bhp and 178lbft of torque in standard tune, the DB2/4 3-litre was reputedly capable of 120mph. Overshadowed by its racing DB3 / DB3S siblings, the model still enjoyed a successful competition career winning the team prize on the 1955 Monte Carlo Rally. Only available in two-door saloon or drophead coupe guises, a mere 565 DB2/4 MKIs are thought to have left the Feltham Works.
According to its accompanying copy Aston Martin Ltd (AML) Build Sheet and Service Records, this particular MKI 3 Litre example - chassis number LML/730 - was delivered new to Cyril Williams Motors Ltd of Wolverhampton for use as a demonstrator on 18th June 1954. Equipped with an optional twin exhaust system and upgraded Alfin bi-metal drums, it was purchased by A. Alsop Esq. of Newport during August 1955. Passing to P.M. Rambaut Esq. of Carlisle thereafter, the DB2/4 is known to have covered some 23,000 miles up until July 1956 when its factory Service Records ended.
Whether there were further owners during the intervening period is unknown, but the next recorded keeper is a Mr R. Van Waring of the Netherlands. He acquired the Aston Martin in 1981 and sold it to fellow countryman Dr S. P. Van Bemnelen some four years later. Something of a globetrotter, chassis LML/730 was exported from Japan to the UK in February 2012. Entering the current ownership not long after its arrival on these shores, the DB2/4 has since undergone a thorough mechanical and cosmetic debugging programme. The associated bills are not gargantuan but make no allowance for all the man hours that the vendor has himself invested in the car; the results of which speak for themselves.
The car has self-evidently been treated to an extensive restoration in the not too distant past but unfortunately the related paperwork is no longer with it. Resplendent in Gloss Black with Beige leather upholstery, the DB2/4 boasts matching engine and chassis numbers. Pleasingly, the car's original registration number - 'NDA 377' - remains available and could be reunited with it should a new owner so wish. Worthy of close inspection and potentially eligible for such prestigious events as the Mille Miglia Storica, this handsome Aston Martin is offered for sale with history file, MOT certificate valid until October 2013 and the aforementioned Alfin bi-metal drum brakes (which have been retained as spares).
Auction: Newbury Racecourse, 5th Dec, 2012
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