Aston Martin auction smashes the records

While most people are likely to feel a little ambivalent about the day they said to themselves "I have to sell my Aston Martin", several former owners of the iconic luxury cars are going to be solidly pleased a recent brand auction generated some £5m.

At this month's Bonham annual auction of Aston Martin and Lagonda Cars - a dedicated auction that sells only brand vehicles and related automobilia - several records for selling a car in an auction were smashed.

Perhaps the most straightforward was the fact that 95% of the lots were sold in the auction. More interesting though was the sale of a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage, a 'barn find' that was fiercely fought over by nine separate telephone bidders, five bidders in absentee and five bidders in the room. Estimated at just £20,000 to £30,000, the final price was a thoroughly impressive £124,700 after.

Another Aston Martin - a DB4 Series IV Vantage - attracted less money but still managed to double the estimated auction value by the end of bidding. Made iconic as its role as a 'test mule' in the movie GoldFinger, it sold for £84,000 after doubling its presale estimate of between £40,000 and £50,000.

However, the top lot of the day was the VMF 65; a 1950 Aston Martin DB2 Team Car, formerly of the British Racing Green. This classic car had been raced by such famous names as Stirling Moss, Peter collins, Tony Rolt, Eric Thompson, Lance Macklin, Roy Salvadori and George Abecassis.

Valued at a staggering presale estimate of between £380,000 and £440,000, the car sold even higher by the end of the auction. After fierce and competitive bidding the VMF 65 was sold for a record breaking £513,000.

James Knight, head of Bonhams motoring department, said that the auction demonstrated how selling a car in the collectors market remained unaffected by the recession.

 

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