I’VE OWNED a few oddball cars in recent times – including a Morris from the 1930s, an Austin from the 50s and a basketcase from the 1970s, but never anything as grand, historic or famous as the four-wheel thunderbolt in today’s illustration.
This is a howlingly rare Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante from 1968. Do I go overboard on the adjectives? Well, this is one of only 29 examples in existence.
A great British icon, it was sold at Duke’s auctions of Dorset on June 9, raking in a cool three quarters of a million quid.
The powerful dark blue convertible, which had covered only 38,833 miles from new, was previously owned by the Sandra Bernstein, wife of media entrepreneur Sidney Bernstein, best known as the founder of Granada Television in 1954. Duke’s said Mrs Bernstein, who bought the car in 1968, “cherished it for the rest of her life before passing it to her son.” Mrs Bernstein was familiar with Astons having previously owned a DB5 convertible.
The auction house said the car was one of the rarest post-war Aston Martins and was “so special” due to its single family ownership and its remarkable original condition.
TMP 548F was right-hand drive and was bought new on May 18, 1968. The car was delivered in Pacific blue with natural hide and fitted with a manual gear box.
At auction, the car was presented as it left the factory with the exception of a replacement mohair hood in dark blue. The interior was wonderfully patinated, the engine bay was original and the engine remained leaded.
Today’s classic car collectors are finding it increasingly difficult to acquire vehicles that remain original and unrestored from the day they left the assembly line. This was one such car and it represented a unique opportunity to purchase one of the rarest Aston Martins.
Only 29 DB6 Vantage Volantes were produced and they are highly prized by collectors. As such, there was pre-sale talk of the model going for a million. Instead, it sold away for £754,000 in Duke’s Dorchester rooms, inclusive of premium.
I’ll keep my chequebook locked away until an automatic comes along!
Picture: Aston Martin DB6, £754,000 (Duke’s of Dorset).
