The sale of an Aston Martin Virage Volante used by Prince Charles
A press release pinged into my inbox this morning from Bonhams that immediately caught my attention. It came from Leonora Oldfield of Bonhams, someone I hadn’t heard from since the days when we were both involved in fundraising for Lady Meyer’s PACT.
Most of my readers will know of the subsequent stories covered by The Daily Telegraph and The Independent about how that particular organisation operates and I don’t wish or need to dwell on that matter further.
The press release itself contained something that I found far more fascinating. In it, Bonhams announced that they are to auction an Aston Martin Virage Volante that was used by Prince Charles from 1994 until 2008.
This spectacular 6.3 litre soft-top vehicle has been on display at Aston Martin’s headquarters at Gaydon since another Aston Martin owned by the environmentally conscious prince was converted to run on bio-ethanol distilled from surplus British wine. That vehicle, an Aston Martin DB6 MKII, was most famously also used by Prince William to drive his new wife from Buckingham Palace to Clarence House after their wedding last year.
Bonhams quote a pre-sale estimate of £50,000 to £70,000 for the dark green Aston Martin Virage Volante. It will be auctioned at the Aston Martin Works Service at Newport Pagnell on 19th May 2012.
Prince Charles once said: “I’d rather go by bus.” I feel rather differently: I’d rather take this Aston any day.
For more information on the sale of the 1994 Aston Martin Virage Volante used by Prince Charles, contact Bonhams on +44 (0) 20 7468 5801 or email ukcars@bonhams.com. View details of the sale at: http://www.bonhams.com/auctions/20142
Follow Bonhams on Twitter at: http://www.twitter.com/bonhams1793