1950 Aston Martin DB2 DropHead Coupe

Aston Martin, founded in 1913, fell upon hard times after World War II. In 1947 David Brown (DB) purchased Aston Martin. He produced his first car, the DB1, a prototype in 1948. Fifteen examples of this four-cylinder, 4 seat model were created. They were powered by a four-cylinder pushrod engine of 2 liters.

From 1950 to 1953 Aston Martin produced only 411 automobiles. Based on a car that ran at the 24 Hours of LeMans in 1949, the production DB2 debuted at the New York Auto Show in 1950.

The second, third and fourth models produced were taken to LeMans in 1950, where two placed first and second in class. All three continued to race through the year, nicely securing the company's image.

In 1950 Aston Martin introduced its first real production sports car, the DB2. It was a two-seater with an all-aluminum body, a multi-tube chassis, independent front suspension and most importantly, a 2.6-liter, 6-cylinder, twin cam, twin carburetor, 105 horsepower Lagonda engine with a four-speed transmission. A total of 409 DB2's were produced, of which 360 were fixed head coupes and only 49 were the rare dropheads.

A saloon tested by the British magazine 'The Motor' in 1950 had a top speed of 116.4 mph and could accelerate from 0-60 mph in 11.2 seconds. A fuel consumption of 20 miles per imperial gallon (17 mpg) was recorded.

This particular drophead has undergone a complete body-off frame, nut and bolt restoration by its current owner to exact factory specifications.

There were 114 DB2's manufactured from 1950-1952; 37 were Drophead (convertibles) and 77 were coupes. This Drophead was the subject of a complete body-off restoration by its current owner. The vehicle is powered by a 2.6-liter dual overhead cam engine developing 125 horsepower.

Control of Aston Martin, after the company experienced financial problems, was taken over by David Brown, a tractor manufacturer, in 1947. The DB2 was David Brown's first production sports car.

The car is made of all hand-formed aluminum panels. The current owner completed a restoration in February 2008.