Seven cars to watch at Bonham’s 2019 Aston Martin Sale

It will be the 20^th time auction house Bonhams has put on the Astons-only sale, this year being held in conjunction with the Aston Martin Owners’ Club concours at Wormsley Estate in Buckinghamshire.

Thirty five cars representing models from the 1950s to the present day will be up for grabs, along with a large assortment of Aston memorabilia from brochures and garage signs to wheel spinners and racing jackets. The fame of certain Astons from the silver screen is reflected in lots with connections to The Persuaders, The Italian Job and several generations of James Bond.

Cars in the sale embrace models from a 1952 Lagonda to one of this year’s Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brakes, with most DB numbers and body styles in between included. Here are some of the sale headlines…

Oldest

Not an Aston but a Lagonda from the early years of David Brown’s takeover of the firm, with its famous chief designer W.O. Bentley. And it’s W.O.’s hand that is very much all over this 1952 2.6-litre Drophead Coupé, designed with independent suspension and twin-cam six-cylinder engine to be a fast and comfortable tourer for five people. In today’s fast-paced and electrified new world Lagonda is about to take off, which might bring a new shine to heritage models like this one with its guide price of £70-80,000.

Biggest project

Not much is known of this 1959 DB MkIII saloon after it was delivered to its first owner in Newport Beach, California, in October 1959. It was painted Desert White with a black interior, and was left-hand drive but also automatic to suit its American owner. There were only ever three DB MkIIIs commissioned with the Borg Warner auto, and this is said to be the only saloon. You do get a spare manual ‘box with the car, however, along with what is said to be a rust-free chassis and body – always a useful starting point for what would need to be a complete restoration job. Bonhams reckons it will fetch between £85-115,000.

Newest

With 43 miles from new, the 2019 Vanquish Zagato Shooting Brake is certainly the freshest car in the sale, but it is also probably the fastest (0-62mph in 3.5 seconds), and among the rarest (the 68^th of 99 built) and most valuable: its guide price is £625-750,000. The estate-bodied Vanquish was part of a series of Zagato-designed specials (others were Coupe, Volante convertible, and Speedster) based on the Vanquish platform to mark Aston’s relationship with the Italian design house, what Bonhams calls one of the most enduring creative partnerships in the global auto industry. Despite its spectacularly reworked body, it’s a two-seater but with plenty of room and comfort for grand touring – ­ and with a 600PS V12 under the bonnet that would be very grand indeed.

Toughest

David Brown (he of the DB initials) made his money building tractors and kept turning them out even after buying Aston Martin in 1947; the 990 Selectamatic in the sale is from 1970. Cosmetically good and said to be mechanically sound, it has a guide price of £7-10,000. What a way to arrive at an Aston Martin meet!

Most practical

“The DB2/4 can truthfully claim to be the fastest car in the world capable of carrying two people with a month's luggage,” concluded The Motor in its road test of the 1955 DB2/4. That /4 stood for a DB2 with a kind of early hatchback rear end and two kids’ seats in the back. This was the family Aston Martin, but with 3.0-litre six it could still top 120mph. This car is registered in Italy… handy for the Mille Miglia re-run for which it would be eligible.  Guide: £100-120,000.

Most 007-ish

There may be no actual Bond cars here but you can still take your pick from models representing your favourite James Bond era. For George Lazenby fans (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service) there’s a 1969 DBS, right-hand drive and manual gears, with a guide of £100-120,000. Timothy Dalton (The Living Daylights) drove a V8 Vantage in the 1987 movie and there are two of those in the sale, one an X-Pack coupe (£320-360,000) and the other an X-Pack Volante convertible (£300-350,000). Then of course there’s the daddy, a DB5 in Silver Birch with black interior just like the one Sean Connery drove in Goldfinger, Thunderball and Goldeneye. The 1965 example is estimated at £620-680,000.

Bonhams Aston Martin sale at the Wormsley Estate, Wormsley, Bucks, is on 19 May at 11.00. For more, visit Bonham’s site here.

Photography provided by Bonhams.