1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT Coupe

1959 Aston Martin DB4 GT Factory Lightweight has chassis number DB4GT0168L and is one of two factory lightweight DB4 GTs with left hand drive. It was ordered by Rex Woodgate of Aston Martin's North American operations. He was a man of many talents, including in business and as a racing team manager. He had this car entered in the 1961 Sebring 12 Hours Endurance Race. It was the third car in his DB4 GT racing team and was completed just a short time prior to the race. It left the factory with 11 days to make the start of the race. It was sent as airfreight cargo and when it reached US soil, it went through a lengthy inspection process that delayed its arrival to the track. Ultimately, the car would never race at Sebring in 1961, as it was not released from customs until the Monday after the race.

The car was then sold through Inskip's in New York as a Grand Tourer, which shielded it from the abuses of racing and competition. From there the car would pass through several owners throughout the years. By 1988 it had traveled 54,945 and the decision was made to perform a total restoration. The process was started, but never fully completed as the owner passed away. All that had been completed to this point was a body paint finished in its original color of Peony Red. The chassis and suspension had been restored by the powertrain was not yet installed. In 2001 through 2002 the entire car was restored with a few performance, reliability, and safety features incorporated. After the restoration it was brought to Lime Rock Park where it achieved a lap record for 'standard DB4 GTs' at 1:08. The odometer reads just 56,547, having traveled less than 2,000 miles since the restoration, it was brought to the 2007 Monterey Sports & Classic Car Auction presented by RM Auctions, where it had an estimated value of $1,650,000 - $1,850,000. The estimates proved accurate as the lot was sold for $1,650,000 including buyer's premium.

The car was purchased at auction by Paul Andrews and enjoyed by his family for fourteen years on such events as the Colorado Grand and the Copperstate 1000. It returned to auction in 2021 where it was sold for $3,855,000 inclusive of the buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2007