Vehicle Description
1953 Arnolt-Aston Martin DB2/4 Bertone Spyder LHD
This Arnolt-Aston Martin is an exceedingly rare motorcar being one
of the first six original DB2/4 LHD chassis that were fitted with
special bodies crafted by Bertone in Turin and then imported to the
US by industrialist and car dealer S.H. Arnolt. Amongst this very
limited run of Arnolt-Aston Martins, Chassis LML 505 is even rarer
being one of just three spyders and the only one built to deluxe
road-going specification.
S.H. Arnolt was a well-known industrialist from Illinois who began
to import British sports cars just after the Second World War. By
the early 1950s Arnolt had identified the potential to combine the
best of British engineering with Italian styling and American sales
and distribution networks to create a quick, stylish and profitable
sportscar that would meet the growing demand for such cars from an
eager American public.
Arnolt's first forays with this approach were highly promising and
involved Italian coachbuilder Nuccio Bertone and the British Motor
Corporation Ltd, who supplied Bertone with the MG TD chassis and
together they sold 100 examples of the Arnolt-MG during 1952 and
1953. Unfortunately this initial success was not to last and by
October of that year BMC had discontinued production of the MG TD
and decided not to supply any of the new MG TF chassis to third
parties.
Undaunted Arnolt used his growing relationship with David Brown of
Aston Martin to acquire six chassis of the new DB2/4, which were
dispatched to Bertone to be fitted with their bespoke
Scaglione-designed bodies. Of these first six chassis (two more
would be produced after the initial production run) three were
built as cabriolets and three as spyders, with two of the latter
completed as stripped out racers and one being completed as a
deluxe road-going version.
The car offered here is the unique deluxe spyder and is
differentiated in being the only one fully equipped with bumpers,
side screens, complete radiator grill, full height windscreen and
fold away hood. The car was completed in late 1953 and as a result
the original 2.6 Litre engine was replaced by a newer 3.0 Litre
unit at the factory before being shipped to Italy. From Bertone's
workshops in Turin it then passed via Genoa to the RMS Britannic
which transported it to the US and upon arrival it was used as the
New York show car in January of 1954. It is probable that it was
finished to deluxe specification due to its role as a show car and
with a view to impressing David Brown who was known to be attending
the show. Sadly, and despite these extra efforts, it seems that
Brown was not convinced and Arnolt's hopes of extending the run of
Arnolt-Aston Martins were dashed. After completing just two
additional examples to the first series, the project was
discontinued by January 1955 and Arnolt pursued other British
manufacturers, notably Bristol Cars, with whom he and Bertone
enjoyed considerably more success.
After its use as a show car, Chassis LML 505 was sold to its first
customer, a Mr Leonard W Jarosz of Detroit Michigan, on April 8th
1954 who kept it for a few years before selling it on to a Mr
Schwambauer of Wichita, Kansas. By 1958 the car had moved to a more
amenable climate when it was purchased by C S Wallen, a US Airforce
Captain, based in Arizona. Over the next 20 years the car would
have only a small number of new owners and only limited use such
that by the later-1970s it had only clocked up 64,000 miles and
remained highly original. Following an initial restoration in the
US the car subsequently found its way to a collection in
Switzerland and finally returned to the UK in the 1990s where it
formed part of a well-known collection for a number of years before
being subject to a full bare metal restoration that was completed
in 2004. During this work the originality of the car was clearly
evident with no signs of accident damage and most of the original
chassis and steel bodywork being well preserved, probably due to
its limited number of owners, long residence in Arizona and periods
of extended storage. Importantly the car retained the 3.0 Litre
engine fitted in the factory along with its original gearbox. At
this time it was repainted by Bodylines in a metallic blue that
matched small areas of original paint discovered in the
restoration.� The quality of the work was underlined by a victory
in the AMOC Woburn Abbey Concours immediately post-restoration.
Recently acquired by JD Classics, this exceptionally rare motor car
remains in excellent and highly original condition and presents
wonderfully in its Chichester Blue paint with Blue interior. With
Mille Miglia eligibility, full matching numbers and accompanied by
many historical articles and numerous detailed photographs
outlining its restoration it has an incredible provenance and
provides a very special opportunity to own a unique part of Aston
Martin's Heritage.
Please contact us for further details. UNDER OFFER.
