Rare Aston Martin tipped to sell for £2.5m

An exquisite 1955 Aston Martin DB3S - painted in orange - could be the most expensive British car ever sold.

The tangerine-coloured 3-litre racing car will be up for auction on 17 August and is likely to make £2.5m - perhaps even beating the £2.6m achieved by James Bond's DB5 in 2010. So you'll need deep pockets if interested.

Souped-up investment

"DB3S/118," says Don Rose, car specialist at RM Auctions, "is among the best of the examples extant, with a fully documented race and ownership history and a factory engine upgrade to the 'Works competition' twin-plug head specification in its first year and which is still retains today."

The orange livery denotes the car's racing circuit heritage from Zandvoort, Holland where it scored two victories. It was originally ordered by Dutch gentleman racer, Hans Davids. A captain in the US Merchant Navy imported the car to the US where it continued racing, before being professionally looked after by several other Aston Martin enthusiasts.


So, a very desirable car. For the super wealthy, always buying the best example available (and keeping it that way) is the surest route to keeping their investment safe. On paper, it even sounds a sensible investment strategy (for those who have the spare £2m).

Sensible?

But the values of classic cars, especially in a recession, are fickle. The ongoing maintenance and storage and servicing charges - not to mention insurance - can be huge, especially for highly valuable vehicles. If you were to invest in a classic car investment fund, the annual charges would make the fees extracted by some City fund managers look reasonable.

Yes, at the top end of the market, values have exploded. And cars with competition history, as this DB3S has, make them more valuable. But it's also heartening to know that the idea of classic cars as an exclusively wealthy hobby needs some debunking.

The Federation of British Historic Vehicle Clubs claims 31% of historic vehicle owners have a total household income of under £25,000 - and 68% of classics are valued at under £10,000. Some distance from £2.5m.

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