COYS will be auctioning off a 1954 Aston Martin DB 2/4 on Saturday at Blenheim Palace. The iconic car is considered to be the inspiration for the described Aston Martin in Ian Fleming’s novel Goldfinger.
The auction will include about 90 motor cars from various periods and of several makes. This is in addition to about 90 motorcycles also going under the hammer on Friday, the first day of the auction.
This particular DB 2/4 is a Mk I Vantage with chassis number LML-819. It was owned by Philip Ingram Cunliffe-Lister, son of Lord Swinton, head of MI5 and Winston Churchill’s Security Executive during World War II. He was also Ian Fleming’s boss and this particular car was often next-door to Fleming’s home in Kent, at the very home the author used as inspiration for the headquarters of Sir Hugo Drax in Moonraker.
This Aston Martin also contains all of the gadgets that appear in the Goldfinger car, including reinforced steel bumpers, concealed lockers, a heavy-duty anti-interference ignition system, driver’s seat connections for two-way radio, and a Halda Speed Pilot.
Chris Routledge, Managing Partner of the auction house, said “This could be one of the most important discoveries of all time, confirming the link between the undoubtedly most famous spy in history and possibly the world’s most iconic sports car marque.”
