A lovely 1954,right-hand drive, DB2/4 with great history and current FIVA papersOwned in the 1980's by Philip Gould, a founding member ofthe 80's pop band, Level 42Over 30,000spent during ourvendor'sownershipwith marque experts, Nic Mee and Moto TechniqueFIVA papers offering entry to the Mille Miglia recently secured and these may betransferableReally lovely condition. Successin the 2016 Aston Martin Concours d'EleganceWith a fascinating history, this is Classic Aston ownership at its very bestThe Aston Martin DB2/4 was launched from Feltham in October 1953 and was offered as a sporting 2+2 hatchback or an open drophead Coupe. Although similar to the DB2 it replaced, changes included a smaller fuel tank, rear suspension upgrade, wraparound windscreen, larger bumpers, and re-positioned headlights. A number of special bodied cars were also produced by Italian coachbuilders Carrozzeria Allemano, Bertoneand Vignale who were commissioned at special request by private clients. David Brown had purchased the Lagonda company a few years earlier, primarily to obtain the W.O.Bentley designed, double overhead camshaft straight-six, which he wanted as a replacement for the ageing Claude Hill four-cylinder unit. He knew success in motorsport would benefit sales, and used the 2.6-litre, six-cylinder unit to power the works DB2s which were campaigned at Le Mans and across Europe throughout the early 1950's.The DB2/4 engine (VB6J) was initially tuned to 125bhp, propelling the car to 120mph and 0-60mph in 11.2 seconds.However, in the summer of 1954, the capacity was increased from 2,580cc to 2,992cc, which raised power to 140bhp at 5,000rpm and reduced the 0-60mph time to tenseconds dead. Autocar described the DB2/4 in October 1953 as: "an expensive car designed to cater for the connoisseur of sports cars who is not limited by financial considerations.... a car of rare quality, unusual performance, exceptional road-worthiness and unrivalled versatility" - a description that, I suspect, Aston Martin would be proud to have applied to any of their current models.LML 687was first registered on the 26/05/1954, originally finished in Sea Green with a black leather interiorand weunderstand that this DB2/4 spent much of its earlylife in Sussex, before being bought by a Mr Tidy in 1970, who kept thecaruntil the early 1980's. Further detail within the carssubstantialhistory file shows that Mr Tidy commissioned a significant restoration during his ownershipand within the file, there are items ofcorrespondence between Mr Tidy and various suppliers.By the late 1980's, the Aston passed via a London dealer into the ownership of Philip Gould, a founding member and drummerofthe 1980's pop band Level 42.Sometime later,well-respected restorer Andrew Thorogoodwas tasked with rebuilding the Astons engine and at the same time the wiring loom was replaced and the brakes and suspension were reconditioned. Inevitably, there was other minor work carried out to return LML 687 tohealth and we believe the account for all this came to around 17,000.Mr Gould kept his Aston foralmost tenyears before passing custodianship toits next owner in 1997,and he, in turn, looked after the car for the following20 years.Heclearly cherished it hugelyduring this period and we can see from the owners file that between2008and2015the bodywork was substantially restored and a fresh coat of British Racing Green applied. The lovely patina of the interior was such that,on advice fromspecialists and fellow Aston owners,it was decided to leave as is rather than replace. The engine was rebuilt by leading Aston Martin specialist Davron, the carburettors were rebuilt, as were the front suspension and steeringassembly. The brakes were relined and fitted with Alfin drums and, as a nod to practicality, an alloy radiator and electric fan were fitted. A custom-made twin stainless steel exhaust was also fitted. The results ofall this workwere so impressive that the car was awarded Third in Class atthe 2016 Aston MartinConcoursdEleganceat Duxford. Later that year it was decided to sell the DB2/4 after 20 years of ownership and our vendor purchased OOX 209to add to his significant private collection.Our vendor, a real classic car enthusiast, has always wanted to compete in the Mille Miglia and saw this 54 DB2/4 as a perfect opportunity in which to tick, one of the mostsignificantmotoring events in the world, off his bucket list. FIVA papers were therefore applied for and successfully obtained, however, a change in private circumstance meant that dream never came to fruition so, regrettably, the caris being offeredto the open market,however, he intends tofulfilhisMille Miglia dreams one day.In order to keep the car up to his exacting standards, the current owner has spent over 30,000duringhis ownership, with Moto Technique in 2017 and with marque experts Nic Mee in 2019and there are invoices in the file detailingthiscare and attention.The Aston is accompanied by a fascinatinghistory filecontaininga variety of invoices for the aforementioned maintenance, repairsand restoration work dating back to the 1960's, a photographic record of therecentrestoration, correspondence, and the normal ownership documents, logbooks etc.This is classic Aston ownership atits very best and we thoroughly recommend a closer inspection.