It's been quite a few weeks for Aston Martin. A
hydrogen-powered Rapide S
is racing alongside V12 Vantage GT3s
at the N24
CC100
has been unveiled. The roadgoing
Rapide S
has also gone on sale in Aston Martin's centenary year.
But there's nothing like a rare classic Aston to celebrate the brand, is there? This weekend saw the 14th annual Bonhams auction at Aston Martin Works, where a unique DB4 GT from 1961 went under the hammer. The last GT ever produced and designed by Giugiaro in one of his first commissions, the DB4 made a staggering £3,249,500. It's the highest amount ever paid for an Aston Martin at auction, and contributed significantly to the total £10m haul from the sale.
Barn find DB5 made a staggering £320,700
The DB4 GT was built by Bertone and is nicknamed 'the Jet', a name that has been resurrected with
recent Bertone-Aston concepts
. It was unveiled at the Geneva show in 1961 and has been fastidiously maintained. Restored by Aston Martin Works, the DB4 GT has won 12 awards, including first in class at Pebble Beach and the Hurlingham Club, and best in show at Villa d'Este.
It's seldom that a barn-find DB5 is overshadowed in an auction, but such was the calibre of Saturday's lots. The 1964 model has in storage for thirty years and is completely standard. With less than 48,000 miles on its odometer, the DB5 made £320,700.
Aston Martin Works' Managing Director, the fantastically-named Kingsley Riding-Felce, said of the auction, "This year's Bonhams sale was a great success, with 197 lots finding new buyers and more than 2,000 customers and enthusiasts taking part." The rather more sober-sounding Jamie Knight, Bonhams Group Motoring Director, added, "The day was tremendous, with both Bonhams and Aston Martin Works contributing much to ensure this was once again one of the highlight sales on the global auction calendar".