Photo: RM Sotheby's
Back during the David Brown era, Aston Martin was a small-time manufacturer of bite-the-back-of-your-hand beautiful sports cars as it’s also the case today. The DB2 was the automaker’s bread and butter in the 1950s, succeeded by the DB2/4 series and DB2/4 Mark III.
The Mark III is one of the most sought-after Aston Martin models from the 1950s, a collectible work of wonder and an elegant reminder that cars from the olden days were designed with a lot more passion than the DBX utility vehicle and aero-crazy Valkyrie. Simply put, they don’t make ‘em like they used to because the automotive landscape has also changed.
Only 551 examples of the breed were made from 1957 through 1959, and all of them featured the Tadek Marek-developed Lagonda straight-six engine based on a design by W.O Bentley. This fellow here is chassis number AM300/3/1364 according to RM Sotheby’s, a left-hand-drive car delivered to the United States in metallic blue over fawn leather.
By 1972, the DB2/4 Mark III was roaming through Hollywood in the ownership of Michelle Zukovsky. The current owner had purchased the car in 2007 in pretty bad condition – inside and out – which is why a complete restoration had to be done. As part of the process, the paintwork had been changed to metallic grey and the Lucas wiring loom had been replaced.
Connolly cream leather upholstery and an overhauled four-speed transmission with overdrive are also featured, but putting the restoration in words doesn’t compare to admiring the Mark III with your own eyes. It’s hard to find an angle or a detail that doesn’t look spectacular on this grand tourer, and the 125-horsepower engine only adds to the Britishness of the car.
Scheduled to be auctioned on February 5th at RM Sotheby’s Paris, chassis number AM300/3/1364 doesn’t have an estimate. A similar model hammered for 207,000 euros at last year’s edition of the auction, and during Monterey 2019, one of the first Mark IIIs to arrive in the U.S. sold for $257,600.
Only 551 examples of the breed were made from 1957 through 1959, and all of them featured the Tadek Marek-developed Lagonda straight-six engine based on a design by W.O Bentley. This fellow here is chassis number AM300/3/1364 according to RM Sotheby’s, a left-hand-drive car delivered to the United States in metallic blue over fawn leather.
By 1972, the DB2/4 Mark III was roaming through Hollywood in the ownership of Michelle Zukovsky. The current owner had purchased the car in 2007 in pretty bad condition – inside and out – which is why a complete restoration had to be done. As part of the process, the paintwork had been changed to metallic grey and the Lucas wiring loom had been replaced.
Connolly cream leather upholstery and an overhauled four-speed transmission with overdrive are also featured, but putting the restoration in words doesn’t compare to admiring the Mark III with your own eyes. It’s hard to find an angle or a detail that doesn’t look spectacular on this grand tourer, and the 125-horsepower engine only adds to the Britishness of the car.
Scheduled to be auctioned on February 5th at RM Sotheby’s Paris, chassis number AM300/3/1364 doesn’t have an estimate. A similar model hammered for 207,000 euros at last year’s edition of the auction, and during Monterey 2019, one of the first Mark IIIs to arrive in the U.S. sold for $257,600.
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