Ultimate Aston Martin 'Barnfind' For Bonhams' FoS Auction?

It’s quite obviously in need of some tender loving care but the potential in this machine is inarguably real. This car is the first David Brown-era works racing Aston Martin model and is the only surviving car of its kind fitted with the Claude Hill 4-Cylinder engine: an engine that won an Aston Martin the Spa 24 in 1948, and in turn won the hearts and minds of the motoring community for the reborn and rejuvenated sportscar manufacturer. It is the one of the three Aston Martin entries in the first postwar Grand Prix d’Endurance (otherwise known as the Le Mans 24 Hours) on the 25th and 26th of June, 1949. Seventh place there and an impressive fifth place finish two weeks later at the 24 Hours of Spa makes this car both a significant car in the history of Aston Martin, and a car with competitive pedigree.

Under the ownership of Aston Martin Owners Club member Christopher Angell, the car saw decreasing use and eventual decent into dilapidation due to a decline in his health. The car’s theft in 2002 and Mr Angell’s death in 2003 came about sooner than the intended restoration, and only last year did relatives and present vendors of the car receive its official documents following a process of litigation. 

Although its condition and some of its more recent history looks less than appetising, the fact that it is completely unrestored and relatively untouched (bar a modified grille and unoriginal non-endurance fuel tank) since its heyday serves to justify the estimated price range of between £600,000 and £900,000. For a car that was at the head of the rebirth of one of the most prominent sportscar manufacturers and racers in the world, and at the beginning of the renaissance story for what is arguably the most iconic motor race on earth, means that this car represents an unequivocal opportunity for its potential buyer to own, restore and indeed potentially compete in a one of a kind iconic machine, and a piece of motoring history.

We intend to get a good look around this diamond in the rough in a preview prior to the Bonhams sale at the Festival of Speed in a few weeks time, before it is hopefully acquired by a loving new owner. A fascinating and endearing machine.

Images courtesy of Bonhams