1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 3.0-Litre Sports Saloon
Coachwork by Mulliners of Birmingham
Chassis no. LML/574
Engine no. VB6J/148

"The Aston Martin DB2/4 is an expensive car designed to cater for the connoisseur of sports cars who is not limited by financial considerations." - Autocar, 2nd October 1953.

With the introduction of the '2+2' DB2/4 in October 1953, Aston Martin extended the DB2's appeal to the hitherto untapped yet increasingly important market comprised of 'sports car enthusiasts with a family'. By modifying the rear of the chassis and reducing the fuel tank capacity from 19 to 17 gallons, Aston's engineers liberated sufficient space within the existing design for two child-sized occasional rear seats. Alternatively, the rear seat backs could be folded down, thus creating a load-carrying platform that more than doubled the luggage space. The latter could be accessed via the 2/4's opening rear door, a pioneering example of the now commonplace 'hatchback' concept.

"This transformation gives the Aston Martin DB2/4 an unrivalled luggage-carrying capacity in a car which should be capable in favourable circumstances of achieving two miles a minute," reported The Motor. "The DB2/4 can truthfully claim to be the fastest car in the world capable of carrying two people with a month's luggage."

In addition, a raised roofline, one-piece windscreen, larger bumpers and other detail styling changes differentiated the newcomer from its predecessor. Otherwise, the DB2/4 remained much the same as the DB2, employing the latter's rectangular-tube chassis, trailing arm independent front suspension and well-located live rear axle. Bodies were supplied by Mulliners of Birmingham until the advent of the MkII version in October 1955, when Tickford - recently acquired by Aston Martin's owner, David Brown - took over.

Designed at Lagonda by Willy Watson, under the supervision of W O Bentley, the 2.6-litre, six-cylinder, twin-cam power unit came in tuned (125bhp) Vantage specification as standard for the 2/4. Despite this, the redesign's inevitable weight gain was not fully compensated for until the arrival of the 3.0-litre, 140bhp engine in 1954. The DB2/4's top speed was now 118mph with 60mph reachable in around 11 seconds, making it one of the fastest British-built cars of the day. In total, 565 of all types had been produced by the time the MkII version arrived in October 1955.

The DB2/4 we offer was supplied new in July 1954 to one G Livanos, Hotel Plaza Athénée, Paris (presumed to be George S. Livanos). The accompanying copy guarantee form shows that the Aston was built in left-hand drive configuration and left the factory finished in Blue Haze with matching grey-piped interior trim. The following items of non-standard equipment are listed: heavy-duty shock absorbers; RJ needles; Alfin brake drums; Le Mans headlamps; and a twin exhaust system. Servicing is recorded up to July 1956, by which time the engine had been rebuilt at the factory and fitted with a 'special type large valve cylinder head'.

The AMOC Register (published 2000) records 'LML/574' as competing at Montlhéry in 1957 driven by 'Koopman', and resident in the USA in 1979. The guaranteed form lists only one additional owner: Gianetto Papeschi of Milan, Italy (1988). The current vendor purchased the Aston at a Monaco auction in 2007, since when it has undergone an almost complete restoration from a 'barn find' state, which was undertaken by Retro Cars Héritage of Nannine, Belgium, whose detailed bills totalling €38,070 are on file. The refurbishment included a full repaint and rebuilding the engine around a new VB6J (3-litre) cylinder block.

Sine the rebuild's completion the Aston has been extensively campaigned by the vendor, taking part regularly in the ING Ardenne Roads rally in Belgium (2009, 2010, 2013, 2014, 2018); the Coupe des Alpes (2014); Rally 1000 Bornes Dolomites - Venise (2017); and Mitteleuropean Race Trieste - Grado (2019). One of the finest Grandes Routières of its day, this beautiful DB2/4 wants for only an equally enthusiastic new owner to add to its impressive collection of participation stickers.