Royal carriage awaits restoration at Aston Workshop
Friday 29 June 2007
Royal carriage awaits restoration at Aston Workshop
An Aston Martin commissioned by the King of Belgium has gone on sale at the Aston Workshop in Beamish, County Durham.
The 1955 DB2/4 Vignale Coupe was discovered in the USA by Aston Workshop owner and enthusiast Bob Fountain, who bought it home to restore it to its originalspecifications. After some research into the history of the car, Bob realised it was specially commissioned by the King of Belgium.
In 1954 King Baudouin I ordered a fast-back coupe, installed on a DB2/4 Aston Martin chassis from celebrated car designer Alfredo Vignale. King Baudouin had been impressed by Vignale’s work with Ferrari and Maserati and asked him to work on a design inspired by a Vignale Ferrari.
The car was completed with a one-off fast back design and a large opening rear hatch and six months later it was delivered to the King. Working predominantly in aluminium, Vignale’s Aston Martin has a distinct American influence although the fast-back design is typically Italian. This made for a very distinctive coupe, with backwards sloping quarter lights and a large glass rear-opening hatch for the rear window. The interior is typically Aston Martin in design and the radiator shape followed Vignale’s design for Fiat and Ferrari.
The car has now been stripped but is still mounted to its original chassis. The original engine, gearbox, rear axle, exterior trim and radiator grill surround have survived although the car needs full restoration at an estimated cost of around £250,000. The Aston Workshop is in possession of photographs of the car exterior which will enable them to recreate the original design although final restoration specifications can be discussed with the purchaser.
The special non-standard features included in this car are a higher rear axle ratio of 3.54:1 (instead of the standard 3.73:1) for more relaxed continental touring, Borrani chromed wire wheels and standard Smiths instruments.
There were only two examples of Aston Martin DB2 and DB2/4 chassis known to have been specially designed by Alfredo Vignale. The first chassis to be bodied was a DB2/4 Spider sport. The Spider Sport has never been traced and it is believed to have been written off following a severe accident in the Bois de Boulogne. Alfredo Vignale began his work as a specialist coachbuilder shortly after the end of the 2nd World War, in response to a customer demand for coach built bodies, particularly on Fiat cars. His business expanded rapidly after being successfully commissioned to provide a Spider sport body for a Ferrari. As with many other Italian coach building companies, this business rapidly expanded during the late 1950s and early 1960s with special commissions including those for Aston Martin, Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati, and Fiat.
Commenting on the find, owner of the Aston Workshop, Bob Fountain said: “It’s always great for us to discover vintage Aston Martins in need of restoration, but when we found that this one had been specially commissioned by a King, it added a real sense of excitement to the project.
“We would love the opportunity to restore this to its original specifications although we could update certain aspects of the car according to the future owner’s preference. For example we could leave the engine as the standard 3 litres or upgrade it in power. It would be a bespoke project and a unique opportunity for someone to buy an Aston Martin once owned by a King.”
The Aston Workshop was launched in 1998 to specialise in the restoration of Aston Martins. The company opened its £500,000 paint and body workshop earlier this year, enabling Aston Martins such as this one to be restored to a very high standard using traditional methods and time-honoured techniques.
The business has grown steadily through word of mouth and the workshop now spans 35,000 square feet and employs more than 100 staff. It also has one of the largest show rooms of new and used Aston Martins in the North East of England with around 60 models on display.
More than 50% of the company’s sales come from overseas with a large proportion coming from the USA, Europe and Asia where the Workshop arranges for cars to be transported to the North East for some tender loving care. Its website is believed to be the second most visited site after Aston Martin’s own and attracted 250,000 unique visitors last year.
Aston Workshop, Red Row, Beamish, County Durham, DH9 0RW Tel: 01207 232 2202 www.aston.co.uk
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