Can’t settle for one orange Aston Martin? Try 8
Bonhams, the auction house, is presenting a sale in Belgium next month with a roster containing the usual interesting stuff: A Bally Harley-Davidson pinball machine, a 1929 Bugatti Type 37 Grand Prix Two-Seater, a pair of Ferrari suitcases, a 1963 Bentley S3 Continental Drophead Coupé, eight matching orange Aston Martins.
Come again, with that last one?
Yes, a highlight of what is being called the Zoute sale has eight orange Astons, none with more than 235 miles on the odometer. They are all 2010 or 2011 models: a DBS coupe, a DBS Volante, coupe and convertible versions of the DB9, a four-door Rapide, and a V-12 Vantage coupe. And rounding out the collection: A V8 Vantage coupe and roadster.
“This is a truly incredible and bespoke offering and I envisage collectors wanting to secure the entire collection with many others trying to win a particular favorite. Whatever the outcome, the new owners will own a unique part of motoring history,” said Gregory Tuytens, Head of Sales at Bonham Cars Belgium, in a fashion that most European auctioneers employ for public sales.
Exactly what part of motoring history a post-millennium suite of glossy-pumpkin Aston Martins celebrates is not especially clear. The cars were apparently commissioned by a Swiss collector, who specified the tangerine color and matching leather interior, but apparently never drove them any distance. Perhaps the sight of orange Astons simply cheered him up: It’s as valid a reason as any to buy a car. Or eight.
Nonetheless, Bonhams’ sale estimates, given in U.S. dollars, aren’t as stratospheric as, say, the 1959 Ferrari Berlinetta, expected to go for up to $7 million.
The predictions for the orange Astons range from up to $64,000 for the V8 Vantages, to $130,000 each for the pair of DBS models. If everything goes for the maximum predictions, you could conceivably buy the lot for $729,000 on the top end, or $480,000 on the low end of the estimates. They’ve all been freshened up, by the way, by Stratton Motor Company in eastern England.
Here’s a promise: If an American buys the entire lot and lets us come see them all together, we’ll send a writer to do a story. He or she is likely to ask only one pertinent question: Why?
The Aston auction is no-reserve and ends October 8, 2023.
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Different strokes for different folks, but the whole idea behind having more than one collector car is variety. I would never have two of the same car (parts cars excluded) or intentionally have two of the same color
I want to meet the guy that shells out that much money for custom pumpkin orange versions of every car Aston made. He sounds interesting.