One of the 1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider will head to auction at the Gooding & Company London auction on 1 September. This classic car was crafted by Bertone for Stanley "Wacky" Arnolt, a Chicago-based industrialist and car fanatic. Known as the DB2/4 "Indiana" Spider, this one-of-a-kind Aston was custom-built as Arnolt's personal car and styled by Franco Scaglione, the man behind Alfa Romeo's 33 Stradale.
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1945 Aston Martin DB2/4 made appearances at Concours d'Elegance shows in the 1970s and 1980s. The vehicle later went to a Swiss Aston Martin collector, who treated the Indiana Spider to a Concours-style restoration, where it was resprayed in its original light metallic blue finish. The fascia is colour-matched to the bodywork, and the interior has been trimmed in cream leather with blue carpeting and wire wheels. Since then, the car received a Mention of Honor at the 2009 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este, among several other accolades.
Expected to sell for a price of 1.5 to 2.3 million dollars
There is a story behind this Bertone-bodied Aston. In 1951 when Arnolt partnered with the design house to build several custom-bodied vehicles. As a distributor of British marques, Arnolt decided to market Bertone-designed British vehicles under the Arnolt name. During the 1950s, he created the Arnolt-MG, Arnolt-Bristol, and even an Arnolt-Bentley. Despite the British underpinnings and Italian styling, Arnolt reportedly sold these cars as American vehicles. However, when he decided to create the Arnolt-Aston, the businessman completed just three cars before Aston Martin intervened and put a stop to it. In total, Arnolt commissioned seven Bertone-designed cars with an Aston Martin badge, but only three are considered to be Arnolt-Astons. This is one of them and the only Spider.
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Only three of the Aston Martin DB2 are known to be in existance
As expected, collectors are keen to acquire this Aston Martin, Arnlot Aston 1945 DB2/4 Indiana Spider is estimated to sell for $1,525,000 (INR 12,51,03,756) to $2,300,000 (INR 18,86,81,075). You could buy nearly 10 examples of the new Aston Martin DB12 for the same amount. The Arnolt-Aston will hit the auction block on September 1 at Hampton Court Palace in London. Before then, the purveyors of classic cars will offer a collection for sale at its Pebble Beach auction. Vehicles on offer include a '66 Ferrari 275 GTB, a '65 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible, and a '58 Mercedes-Benz 300 SL.
