'2 VEV' leads 10-strong Aston Martin line-up at FoS auction

Famed DB4GT could sell for upwards of £10m

As the old adage goes, there are Aston Martins and then there are Aston Martins. And if it's the latter variety you're interested in, then look no further than Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed auction on 13 July.

The sale features a spectacular array of hugely desirable cars, including no fewer than 10 Aston Martins. But even in that company, one in particular stands out.

The car in question is the Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato '2 VEV' – pictured above. It's estimated to sell for as much as £10 million, and it could even trouble the record for the most expensive British car ever sold.

Amazingly, it's far from the only notable Aston Martin on sale: there are also one-of-a-kind racers and even a genuine car from a James Bond movie.

Want to know more? Here are the 10 cars – and what they’re expected to make.

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato ‘2 VEV’

Estimate: POA

Rare is an adjective too often thrown around with classic cars. This 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato, though, is the very definition of rare.

How so? Try this: it’s one of just three ultra-lightweight racing Zagatos ever built. It’s been owned by the same family for some 47 years. It’s competed at Le Mans, Silverstone and the Nürburgring.

Oh, and it was driven by the late Jim Clark at Goodwood in 1961 and 1962.

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato ‘2 VEV’ (cont.)

Tweaked by Zagato, the upgraded DB4GT carried a 3.7-litre aluminium straight-six that produced 314bhp. It was also lighter and more aerodynamic than the ‘standard’ DB4GT and began a storied relationship that would see stunning Aston Martins dominating GT racing – and ‘2 VEV’ is easily the best known of the lot.

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato ‘2 VEV’ (cont.)

Campaigned by John Ogier’s Essex Racing Stable as an almost works Aston Martin, it competed as part of some of history's greatest GT grids.

Fabled racing driver Jim Clark drove the machine at the Goodwood RAC Tourist Trophy race in both 1961 and 1962, and the latter race involved a now iconic coming together with the Ferrari 250 GTO of John Surtees. Both ended up in the safety bank, to be joined shortly by a Ferrari 250 GT SWB.

Those three cars today rank among some of the most valuable in the world.

1961 Aston Martin DB4GT Zagato ‘2 VEV’ (cont.)

All of which explains why it’s estimated to sell for in excess of £10m – though Bonhams won’t tell you that.

The top end of the classic car market is notoriously hard to predict, but it could even surpass that £10m figure to approach the record for a British car – currently held by another Aston Martin, a 1956 DBR1, which sold for £17.5m in 2017.

Find out more about '2 VEV' here.

1964 Aston Martin DB5

Estimate: £440,000 – 520,000

Arguably the quintessential Aston Martin, the DB5 launched in 1963 as the classic grand tourer: understated yet stylish, fast yet practical and, of course, a dream to drive.

Building on the good looks of the DB4 before it, the early-’60s British GT offered a host of refinements – such as Girling disc brakes, electric windows and an oil pressure gauge as standard – on its way to becoming a true motoring icon.

1964 Aston Martin DB5 (cont.)

This 1964 example – chassis DB5/1758/R – spent some 36 years in the care of the Forshaw family who, helpfully, run a respected Aston Martin servicing specialist. As such, it’s in excellent condition, having been thoroughly maintained for much of its life.

Fully serviced in 2016, it carries the desirable ZF five-speed gearbox paired with a replacement 4.3-litre engine built up around an Aston Martin cylinder block by specialist Bill Goodall.

1967 Aston Martin DB6

Estimate: £180,000 – 240,000

The successor to the DB5, the similarly well-proportioned DB6 was arguably the British marque’s greatest tourer – and, for many, last of the true DB models.

With a longer wheelbase and a Kamm-style rear end, it offered improved practicality and aerodynamic performance over its predecessors, while also delivering where it mattered: power.

In Vantage spec, some 325bhp was derived from the existing 4-litre motor.

1967 Aston Martin DB6 (cont.)

This DB6 was shipped to its first owner in 1967. Moving from Essex to Kent in 1975, it stayed with its next owner for some 35 years, before it was sold on again in 2010.

By 2011, marque specialist Bill Goodall was using it as his own runaround and gave it his personal treatment. The engine was rebuilt to Vantage spec (with a 4.5-litre capacity) and the finish was changed to a handsome coat of Black Pearl.

2017 Aston Martin Vanquish S Coupe

Estimate: £110,000 – 140,000

Skip forward 50 years and you land on the Vanquish S.

While everything but the grille might have changed since the days of the DB6, the Vanquish is still every bit the Aston Martin GT.

First unveiled in 2001, the second generation of this range-topping model paired a lighter chassis and body with an upgraded version of Aston’s AM11 V12 engine to great effect. Several variants followed and, in November 2016, the new Vanquish S launched as a 600bhp stunner.

2017 Aston Martin Vanquish S Coupe (cont.)

Up for auction with Bonhams is one of those very models, a 2017 Vanquish S – and it’s essentially a brand new example.

Shipping with all of its books, tools and even the original Aston Martin purchase pack, it’s got a mere 917 miles on the odometer, having been stabled with two owners since new. As such, it’s in immaculate condition and performance will doubtless be as good as the day it left the factory.

1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante

Estimate: £450,000 – 550,000

There are two words guaranteed to make any Aston Martin more exciting: Vantage and Volante. The latter means it’s a drop-top model, the former that it carries a performance package. Put them together and you’ve got a tuned convertible guaranteed to deliver thrills – much like this ‘67 DB6 Vantage Volante, one of only 29 MkIs built to that specification. In Volante spec, the 4.0-litre engine was good for 325bhp and a very good time.

1967 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Volante (cont.)

Unrestored and almost entirely original (but for the colour), chassis DBVC/3618/R has been stabled with the same owner since 1989. Regularly serviced before it was consigned to storage four years ago, it’s in need of a refurbishment but otherwise retains everything that made it so desirable when it launched, from its 4.0-litre motor to the much-lauded ZF five-speed manual gearbox

2011 Aston Martin One-77 Q-Series Coupe

Estimate: £1.65m – 1.8m

Reflecting a new focus on high-end models for exacting clientele, Aston launched the exclusive One-77 at the Geneva Motor Show in 2009. Just 77 were built between 2009 and 2012, pairing a 7.3-litre V12 engine with a lightweight carbonfibre monocoque construction.

How did they fare on the road? Each of the 750bhp hypercars could top a staggering 220mph. Then came the Q-Series: a seven-car run of ultra-rare models kitted out with a custom livery – and an inflated price tag.

2011 Aston Martin One-77 Q-Series Coupe (cont.)

This stunning 2011 model is one of those seven – the sixth to be built, in fact. A left-hand drive example with a mere 300km on the clock, it heads to auction freshly serviced and about as close to new as a Q-Series comes today.

Finished in Morning Frost White, its Warm Charcoal seatbelts and Kestrel Tan interior top off what is, by all accounts, an extraordinarily rare and beautiful car, with an estimate to match.

2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Prototype

Estimate: £400,000 – 500,000

Back in 2007, Aston Martin’s Special Vehicle Operations department struck upon a bright idea: take the marque’s smallest model, the Vantage, and squeeze in the largest possible engine – the 6-litre V12 found in the Vanquish.

The result? This Vantage RS prototype. With race-bred dry sump lubrication in the mix, it derived a hefty 580bhp, while also being lighter than the standard Vantage V8 thanks to a lack of mod-cons such as ABS, traction control and air conditioning.

2007 Aston Martin V12 Vantage RS Prototype (cont.)

Unveiled in its unique ‘Mako Blue’ finish at the manufacturer’s new Gaydon design studio, RS01 toured a host of motor shows before being put in the hands of journalists, who found it could match and even beat several racing Astons.

In 2008 it appeared at the Goodwood Festival of Speed before being sold, in 2013, to the current and only owner. Re-commissioned last year, RS01 goes to auction as a true one-off. Now road legal, this forefather to the V12 Vantage is as unique as they come.

1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT

Estimate: £2.2m – 2.5m

This one-of-19 1960 DB4 GT might seem run-of-the-mill in the company of ‘2 VEV’, but make no mistake: this is still a rare and storied competition car that’s earned every penny of its £2.2m lower estimate.

Launched at the London Motor Show in 1959, the DB4GT was a full 85kg lighter than the standard DB4 and bred to race, with 302bhp derived from the refined 3.7-litre motor. And race it did, contesting circuit events and hill climbs across the world.

1960 Aston Martin DB4 GT (cont.)

Twice damaged and factory-repaired, chassis 370/0110/GT has been campaigned extensively by a host of dedicated racers, with appearances at the Tour Auto, the Goodwood Revival and the Le Mans Classic, among many, many others.

Currently fitted with an engine specially built up to 4.2-litre racing spec by marque specialist Aston Engineering, it also ships with its original motor – and is perfectly placed to return to the track or be converted to road spec. Meticulously maintained and astonishingly rare, this is doubtless one of the stars of the show.

1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage

Estimate: £340,000 – 370,000

Launched in 1977, the V8 Vantage marked a step-change in Aston Martin design and propelled the marque back into the supercar big leagues. High performance was the order of the day, with a 375bhp motor delivering the goods.

Capable of hitting 100mph in a world-beating 12.7 seconds, the Vantage’s bonnet scoops and air intakes offered aggressive styling to match the unrivalled acceleration. In X-Pack guise, things got madder, still, with peak power boosted to 432bhp.

1989 Aston Martin V8 Vantage (cont.)

This 1989 example – chassis 12691 – is one of the last completed before production finished that year. Equipped with that rare and desirable X-Pack performance upgrade, it was frequently serviced through the ‘90s between periods in storage, until a full refurbishment in 1999 – including a bare metal respray back to the original Salisbury Blue colour scheme.

Subsequently treated to money-no-object maintenance, including a £30,000 engine overhaul in 2011, and with 50,000 miles on clock, this V8’s as good as they come.

1965 Aston Martin DB5

Estimate: £1.2m – 1.6m

For would-be Bonds, owning an Aston Martin has long been the best way to replicate the world’s most famous spy.

This July, though, one bidder will be able to go one better and buy James Bond’s actual 1965 DB5. Yes, the very model piloted by Pierce Brosnan’s Bond in the opening chase scene of 1995’s Goldeneye – DB5/1885/R – will be going under the hammer – and it’s expected to have bidders both shaken and stirred.

1965 Aston Martin DB5 (cont.)

There were three DB5s used for filming, but it was this one that was actually driven by Brosnan in the mountainside duel with Xenia Onatopp’s Ferrari F355.

Bought and restored for production, it was subsequently used for publicity purposes and toured several motor shows, before finally being sold at a 2001 auction as the most expensive piece of Bond memorabilia ever (at the time), fetching £157,750.

Displayed by Bonhams at Englefield House in June, it’s now going on sale again – with a suitably golden price tag.

Bonhams' Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale takes place on 13 July. You can view the full lot list here.