Rare 1963 Aston Martin built with a view to be “equally suitable to drive or be driven in” to be auctioned with an estimate £377,000 higher than its 2006 £23,000 selling price
Long before luxury carmakers such as Rolls-Royce and Bentley embarked on attempting to replicate the success of the Range Rover, Aston Martin produced a four-door sports saloon that fulfilled David Brown’s ambition to “build a car which would be equally suitable to drive or be driven in”. One example of a total of just 55 made, a 1963 Aston Martin Lagonda Rapide 4.2-litre sports saloon, is to be auctioned in London on the 6th December.
Sitting on a re-engineered and lengthened DB4 platform-type chassis, the automatic car features aluminium coachwork by Touring of Milan and a “clubby” interior with picnic tables, electric windows and even a remote filler cap opener. It was priced at £5,000 – some 25% higher than the price of a standard Aston Martin DB4 (and the equivalent of £95,500 or $145,000 or €136,000 today) – and first owned by a director of the coachbuilders Hooper & Co.
After passing through the hands of various owners, the vehicle was purchased “in generally good condition” by Aston Martin Lagonda Ltd. at auction in 2006 for just £23,000 (the equivalent of £31,00 or $47,000 or €44,000 today). It was then subjected to a £260,000 ($394,000 or €371,000) “last nut and bolt” renovation and converted from a 4.0-litre to a 4.2-litre engine capacity.
Auctioneers Bonhams describe this spectacular saloon as being the “best example of its type currently available” and have set an estimate of £350,000 to £400,000 ($530,000 to $606,000 or €500,000 to €570,000).
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