The first and last units in a production line are always very special with car collectors, even with newer models. This 1965 Aston Martin DV6 Vantage would have been special in any other situation, but it also holds extreme appeal for being the first of its kind to roll off the production line.
As far as dream cars and ultimate collectibles go, this Aston Martin is the best. It’s the first DB6 Vantage ever produced and the third DB6 overall, it’s also a barn find and, to boot, it’s been painfully and meticulously restored by specialists, so that it’s now back to former glory. It is a beauty, and it is priced to match.
Chassis number DB6/2353/R rolled off the production line in Newport Pagnell on September 8, 1965, with the first licensed owner being Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. It was a show car and a factory demonstrator, so it would spend the next few years touring the country and being lent out for test drives. After some 17,000 miles (27,400 km) and with a new engine, it was sold at auction in 1967, having done its job brilliantly: it had been tested and positively reviewed by all the major trade publications, including Autocar, Motors, and Collectors.
The new owner used it extensively, before retiring it for good. In 1980, it was put in dry storage, where it would remain, apparently forgotten, until 2014. The new owner, classic car enthusiast John Cook, bought it in 2014 at an auction as a barn find and immediately set out to restore it.
To that end, he tasked Aston Services Dorset, which officially handles restorations of classic Astons, to bring the DB6 back to life. Some £300,000 ($398,000) later, the DB6 Vantage was as good as new, back to the factory Fiesta red paintjob and black leather interior. It is currently listed for an upcoming auction, with Cook entrusting Classic Connection with the sale. They’ve had since last summer, but it’s yet to cross the auction block.
Charles Ramsey, owner of Classic Connection, calls it the “rarest DB6 in existence,” because it was deemed lost and was then found, because it has been so beautifully restored and because it is the first of its kind. The DB6 was in production between 1965 and 1971, and this is the first of a limited number of 1,788 units in total. Less than 160 DB6s are still on the road in the UK, of which only 3 are Vantages. This DB6 is a unicorn of the rarest kind.
It is, as the headline says, the ultimate collectible for an Aston Martin fan, and it’s expected to sell for a price worthy of the reputation: reports in the British media say it could fetch as much as £500,000, or $664,000 at the current exchange rate.
Elena has been writing for a living since 2006 and, as a journalist, she has put her double major in English and Spanish to good use. She covers automotive and mobility topics like cars and bicycles, and she always knows the shows worth watching on Netflix and friends. Full profile
Would you like AUTOEVOLUTION to send you notifications?
Google News