1953 | Aston Martin DB 2

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION at RM Sothebys' Cliveden House event, 8 July 2025.
£100,000 - £140,000 GBP

• Powered by its matching-numbers 2.6-litre Vantage engine, making 125 brake horsepower
• Delivered new to Count Charles d’Oultremont of Hainaut, Belgium; believed to have later been taken to the United States and Hong Kong
• Returned to the United Kingdom by its consigning owner in 2013
• Subject of recommissioning work by Aston Martin specialist workshop Trinity Engineering over 2014 and 2015; total spend exceeded £65,000
• Offered with a copy of its factory build sheet and service record

Aston Martin was keen to impress upon prospective customers that its new DB2 would maintain the marque’s motorsport heritage, with period brochures proudly listing the firm’s on-track successes. Employing a lightweight steel tubular frame chassis dressed in aluminium panels coach built by Mulliners of Birmingham, the svelte Sports Saloon lived up to the legacy. In the 1950 edition of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, DB2s claimed the lap and distance record for 3-litre cars in addition to scoring 1st and 2nd place in class. Come that year’s prestigious Tourist Trophy, the model went a step further by locking out the class podium.

Delivered new to Count Charles d’Oultremont of Hainaut, Belgium via importer Mannes, this DB2 spent its formative years around Brussels, according to entries seen within the copy of its Aston Martin service record (available to view on file). The car left the factory equipped with the desirable “VB6B” Vantage engine, finished in Moonbeam Grey over Red Piped Grey interior trim. The DB2 was originally equipped with a Purolator oil filter and M/C choke and ignition, as well as a Smiths speedometer in mph.

By April 1956, the car had returned to England as it was acquired by its second owner, P Parkinson Limited of Middlesbrough. Subsequent recorded owners noted on the built sheet include one Tony Longmate of Kings Lynn and a keeper based near Liege, as the DB2 returned to Belgium in 2001. The engine is noted to have been rebuilt by Hampton Engines of Westhampton Beach, New York, in 2009, with the bill totalling $40,211. In 2011, the DB2 was transacted at an auction in the United Kingdom, where it was bought by The Houtkamp Collection in the Netherlands. From there, the Aston Martin is recorded to have been shipped to Hong Kong one year later but soon returned to Europe as it was brought back to England by the consigning owner in 2013. It was re-registered with the period-correct registration “2 FYE”.

Under instruction of the vendor, the DB2 was sent to the Aston Martin specialist workshop Trinity Engineering, who recommissioned the car over 2014 and 2015. A detailed summary of work—which extended to the engine, transmission, front and rear suspension, brakes, wheels and tyres, chassis, bodywork, interior, boot, and electrical attention—is available to view on file. The recommissioning work totalled £67,415.

Retaining its matching-numbers Vantage engine, the DB2 Coupé is presented today as a glamorous cruiser that would be ideally suited to touring continental roads.
To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/ch25/.