AN INCREDIBLY rare Aston Martin built for the King of Belgium is set change hands for millions in a private sale
The Aston Martin DB2 Vignale was commissioned by King Baudoin of Belgium in 1954 to his own personal specifications.
However, the gleaming motor fell into disrepair after changing hands and ended up in a scrapyard in the US.
That's when Aston Martin enthusiast Bob Fountain, who owns a workshop in Beamish, County Durham, first heard of it in 2007.
Bob arranged for the wrecked vehicle to be shipped over to the North East where it has been worked on ever since by his team.
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King Baudouin reigned from the time of his father, King Leopold’s abdication in 1951, to his death in 1993.
After 42 years on the throne, he was the longest-reigning monarch in Europe at the time.
The car was completed to a one-off distinctive fastback design with a large opening rear hatch, subtle lines and rakish good looks.
The DB2/4 was the first Aston Martin to wear new owner David Brown’s initials.
Only around 1200 DB2/4 of all variants were manufactured, making every example highly collectable today.
And the supercar was delivered to its aristocratic first owner King Baudouin on 10 March 1955, four years after his majesty ascended to the throne.
He was only 24 years old when he bought the supercar.
King Baudouin sold the car to palace aide TR Mottershead in the late 1950s, where it was kept in Moselle, France.
In the early 1960s, James Toth, an American soldier serving with NATO in Paris, bought the Aston Martin.
The DB2/4 Vignale returned to the US with Toth, who damaged both the original engine and replacement before selling it to an army captain.
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Eventually, this one-off Vignale-bodied Aston was bought by Roland Wommack of Virginia and offered to Aston Workshop as a restoration project.
