Aston Martin has made some devastatingly gorgeous
and storied cars over the years. But few could hold a candle to the legendary
DB4GT Zagato. Unfortunately for collectors, only 19 were originally made (along
with another six continuation examples). But one is coming up for auction, and
it could prove the most valuable British car ever sold.
Known by its registration number 2 VEV, this
historic Aston stands out even in the rare company of other DB4GTs. It’s one of
only three that were made in ultra-light DP209 specification. It was driven in
period by two-time F1 champion and Indy 500 winner Jim Clark. And it’s been in
single-family ownership for the past 50 years.
As well preserved as that family has kept it, 2 VEV
has hardly been a garage queen its entire life. In its heyday, it crashed
several times – including one of the most iconic on-track collisions in racing
history. That was when Clark spun it during the RAC Tourist Trophy at Goodwood
in 1962, crashing into John Surtees’ Ferrari 250 GTO and joined soon thereafter
by another 250 GT SWB. If you know how sought-after and valuable all three cars
are today, it’s a scene that’s bound to make you shudder.
Fortunately it’s long since been restored several
times over, including a comprehensive restoration at the Aston Martin factory
in the mid-1990s. 2 VEV has now been consigned to Bonhams for its sale at the
Goodwood Festival of Speed – the same location where it so famously crashed 56
years prior.
Rival auctioneer RM Sotheby’s sold another DB4GT
Zagato in New York more than two years ago for over US$ 14 million. That same
auction house sold another Aston – a 1956 DBR1 – at Pebble Beach last summer
for US$ 22.5 million. That beat the Jaguar D-Type it sold the previous year for Us$ 21.8m to take the record as the most valuable British car ever sold at
auction. Those cars, however, were all sold in the United States – as was the
McLaren F1 that Bonhams sold (also at Pebble Beach) last summer for US$ 15.6m.
That stands to make this the most valuable British car ever sold in Great
Britain, or in Europe altogether.
