Artcurial unearths DB2 Vantage
Forgotten Aston and sorry Porsche pair bring shabby to a chic new Monaco auction
Three contrasting classic discoveries will emerge into the bright lights of Artcurial’s new sale in Monaco on July 2. A 1953 Aston Martin DB2 Vantage that has been cared for but not used since the Eighties, a 1964 Porsche 356C that led a sporting existence in Italy in the hands of an amateur racer, and a one-off single-seater with 356 1600S mechanicals – the latter offered by the family of the late creator. It hasn’t been driven since 1970.
The Aston Martin was delivered new to Sousse in Tunisia. It was ordered in black, which seems rash for an un-airconditioned car in North Africa, but at least the Vantage engine could stir up some breeze. It moved to France in 1959 and has been there ever since, changing hands to its third owner in 1990. It’s described as highly original, having covered only a few tens of kilometres in 27 years. Matthieu Lamoure of Artcurial hopes it will be preserved.
‘Everything on the car has a wonderful patina and we were even able to drive it a short distance,’ he says. ‘Some people will see it as an excellent base for restoration but I think it deserves to keep its character.’
The 356C has been off the road since 1980 and needs a full restoration, though it retains its original engine. The singleseater was built in 1968 by Michel Bayol, whose father Élie had won the Index of Performance at Le Mans in 1954 and later became the Porsche agent in Marseille. Michel Bayol participated in a few regional races but died in 1970, after which his father stored the car.
The Aston Martin is to be sold without reserve, estimated at €100k-150k (£87k130k) and the two Porsches are each estimated at €40k-60k (£34.5k-52k).