The Showroom: 1957 Aston Martin DB4 Prototype ‘DP114/2’

In last month’s pages we briefly mentioned the forthcoming appearance of this unique Aston Martin, flagging-up the fact that it’s likely to be one of the star lots at the second RM Sotheby’s Cliveden House sale.

Designed in-house by Frank Feeley, it was to form the basis for the successor to the DB Mk III – but after Aston Martin asked Touring Superleggera to “stiffen” the body, the Italian coachbuilder suggested starting again from scratch and created the far prettier DB4.

As a result of this, Aston Martin had no further use for chassis DP114/2 so it was handed over to marque owner David Brown’s second wife (and former secretary) Marjorie Deans, who kept it as her regular car for five years.

Uncharitably known as the ‘Walls Ice Cream Van’ due to its pale blue bodywork and white roof, the car subsequently passed to an RAF group captain, William David, in whose ownership it fell into disrepair before being bought in 1970 for £600 by Aston Martin employee Ivor Howells.

Howells spent two years restoring DP114/2 to prize-winning condition, after which a subsequent owner had it homologated for competition use and took the car to a class win in the inaugural Pirelli Classic Marathon of 1988 (2800 miles in eight days).

Aston Martin later bought back the car, subjected it to a further five-year restoration which resulted in considerable press coverage and then sold it to a collector – who spent another £35,000 on it at the Works to fix suspension, braking and paint problems.

It’s now offered for sale in the combination of Almond Green paint and Fern Green interior that it was changed to many years ago but, despite its tidy appearance, does require “further recommissioning”, says the auction house. It might not be as good-looking as a DB4 – but it’s certainly more unusual.

1957 Aston Martin DB4 Prototype ‘DP114/2’
On sale with RM Sotheby’s, Cliveden House, Berkshire, July 8. Estimate: £385,000-£425,000. rmsothebys.com