Rare 1950s Aston Martin that was once owned by the King of Belgium is now worth £3.6million

Rust-ored to its former glory! Rare 1950s Aston Martin that was once owned by the King of Belgium is now worth £3.6million after being saved from the scrapyard

  • The Aston Martin DB2 Vignale has been restored by Bob Fountain and his team 
  • Car was commissioned in 1954 by King Baudouin and later sold to a palace aide

Once the pride and joy of the King of Belgium, it suffered the sad fate of ending up in a scrapyard to slowly fade to rust.

But after a 16-year labour of love, this Aston Martin DB2 Vignale has been restored to regal glory by Bob Fountain and his team in County Durham – and is now on sale with a price tag of £3.65millon.

The rare car was commissioned in 1954 by King Baudouin, who wanted a fastback coupe built on an Aston Martin chassis from celebrated designer Alfredo Vignale, who worked with Ferrari and Maserati. The king eventually sold it to a palace aide before it was bought by an American soldier who took it to the US. It was finally sold in non-running condition to a breaker’s yard in Virginia.

Mr Fountain snapped the car up when he was offered it and had it shipped over to his garage, Aston Workshop, in Beamish, near Newcastle in 2007. He has been working on it since with a team of 40.

The rare car was commissioned in 1954 by King Baudouin, who wanted a fastback coupe built on an Aston Martin chassis from celebrated designer Alfredo Vignale, who worked with Ferrari and Maserati

The rare car was commissioned in 1954 by King Baudouin, who wanted a fastback coupe built on an Aston Martin chassis from celebrated designer Alfredo Vignale, who worked with Ferrari and Maserati

Bob Fountain snapped the car up when he was offered it and had it shipped over to his garage, Aston Workshop, in Beamish, near Newcastle in 2007. He has been working on it since with a team of 40

Bob Fountain snapped the car up when he was offered it and had it shipped over to his garage, Aston Workshop, in Beamish, near Newcastle in 2007. He has been working on it since with a team of 40

He said the fact that the car had been specially commissioned by a king ‘added a real sense of excitement to the project’.

Its multi-million pound price tag makes it one of the most expensive cars on offer in the world.

Mr Fountain: ‘It’s always great for us to discover vintage Aston Martins in need of restoration, but when we found that this one had been specially commissioned by a king it added a real sense of excitement to the project.’

The interior of the car, which is in fawn leather, was hand crafted using historic documents and photographs to recreate the exact spec ordered by the king.

After a 16-year labour of love, this Aston Martin DB2 Vignale has been restored to regal glory by Bob Fountain and his team in County Durham ¿ and is now on sale with a price tag of £3.65millon

After a 16-year labour of love, this Aston Martin DB2 Vignale has been restored to regal glory by Bob Fountain and his team in County Durham – and is now on sale with a price tag of £3.65millon

The King of Belgium eventually sold the car to a palace aide before it was bought by an American soldier who took it to the US. It was finally sold in non-running condition to a breaker¿s yard in Virginia

The King of Belgium eventually sold the car to a palace aide before it was bought by an American soldier who took it to the US. It was finally sold in non-running condition to a breaker’s yard in Virginia

Bob Fountain said the fact that the car had been specially commissioned by a king ¿added a real sense of excitement to the project¿

Bob Fountain said the fact that the car had been specially commissioned by a king ‘added a real sense of excitement to the project’

Sales boss Alex Henderson said: ‘It was never going to be a job that could be done quickly and that was never the intention, it was always going to be a labour of love that was going to take years.

‘We restore Astons every day but this one was Bob’s car so it remained on the sidelines and was worked on whenever anyone had the time.

‘It was never forgotten though and it’s been a privilege to see it taking shape over time.’

source: dailymail.co.uk