1954 Aston Martin DB2/4 Spyder

American Stanley 'Wacky' Arnolt commissioned the Italian coachbuilding company Bertone, of which he was a director, to build a Spyder body for the DB2/4 chassis, and he persuaded Aston Martin to let him have some rolling chassis to work with. In all, about eight cars were built by Bertone: two drop-head coups, two fixed head coupes, and four or five spyders. This particular car is the work of Franco Scaglione, the chief designer at Bertone who also developed the body for Alfa Romeo B.A.T. 5 that same year. This car has a 3-litre Vantage engine installed after the bodywork was in place.

Stanley H. Arnolt, a self-made millionaire, opened a foreign car dealership in Chicago selling MG, Riley, Bentley, Morris, Rolls-Royce, and Aston Martin vehicles. In 1951, he struck a deal with Nuccio Bertone to build 100 examples of each of the coupe and cabriolet-bodied MGs that he had seen on the Bertone stand at the Torino Salon. This led to a partnership that would produce many memorable sports car designs of the 1950s, including this Aston Martin DB2/4 Spider.

Arnolt purchased five sequential Aston Martin DB2/4 chassis in 1953 and had them sent to Carrozzeria Bertone to be clothed with custom coachwork. The even-numbered chassis were given opulent, luxurious bodies, while 503, 505, and 507 were given sporting designs penned by Franco Scaglione. This example wears one of those designs by Scaglione.

After these three cars were completed, it became clear to Aston Martin that these cars were competition to their traditional product lineup, and refused to sell the Chicago businessman any more chassis. Nonetheless, Mr. Arnolt was able to acquire two other chassis.

Two of the three chassis fitted with this body were designed for competition and were minimally equipped for the purpose. This car, the third example, was given more luxurious appointments and a full windscreen, intricate grille, bumpers, and a full soft top. It was shown at the 1954 New York Auto Show, where it wore an Aston Martin badge in an attempt to compel the company owner, David Brown, into making the Bertone-bodied roadster an Aston Martin production model.

This car's first owner was Mr. Schwaumbauer of Wichita, Kansas, who purchased it directly off the New York show stand in 1954. Two Air Force captains, C.S. Wallen, and Charles Barnett, owned the car consecutively from 1958 into the 1970s. Captain Barnett began a restoration that was completed by its next owner, Mr. Jerry Rogers, who purchased the car in 1973. The next caretaker was W.W. Child who later sold it to Annie Abensur in Switzerland. In May of 1996, it was consigned to an auction in Geneva, where it was purchased by Carlos Monteverde. The car, which had been restored to a high standard in Switzerland, was then sold by Mr. Monteverde to its current owner sometime prior to 2003.

Roger McCouat of Somerset, England, was tasked with completely restoring the car to its original livery. The completed car was shown at the 2004 Aston Martin Owners Club's Spring Concours at Woburn Abbey, where it won the 'Feltham Aston' class. It was shown at the Pebble Beach Concours d'Elegance in 2007, where it earned a class award in the Aston Martin Postwar Custom Coachwork category.

This car is powered by a 2922cc dual overhead cam six-cylinder engine fitted with two SU side-draft carburetors and offering 140 horsepower. There is a four-speed manual gearbox and four-wheel Alfin Drum brakes.

By Daniel Vaughan | Oct 2016