Aston Martin DB2 Drophead Coupé - 1953

            It was once the pride and joy of a young king. Now it is little more than a sorry wreck: its colours faded, its headlights and grilles gone, the bodywork held together by a crude tow rope. Ivan Mahy bought this battered Aston Martin some 50 years ago from a garage owner in Gembloux. The man was having a major clear-out and wanted to get rid of the DB2. Even so, he wanted 13,000 francs for it: the aluminium coachwork was worth that alone. True, there was something not quite right about the chassis number, and the engine and gearbox under the bonnet were both Triumph replacements. A shame for a collector, perhaps, but not for the original owner: the new six-cylinder Aston Martin engine had always had a bad reputation. The DB2 was also impractical in other ways. For example, the luggage space behind the seats could only be reached from inside the car. As a result, this British make was not so much in demand back then as it is today. James Bond and his silver-coloured DB5 (complete with ejector seat!) were not yet the screen heroes they would later become. However, this purchase turned out to have a unique silver lining. The registration certificate of the drophead led Mahy to the Royal Palace in Brussels. An inquiry at the Aston Martin Club brought confirmation that King Baudoin, who had been on the throne for just two years and was known to be mad about fast cars, had bought this DB2 at the Brussels Car Show in 1953. It was one of just 411 cars of this model that Aston Martin made, of which 102 were dropheads. However, the king hardly ever used the car. Driving anonymously along Belgian roads in an eye-catching convertible when you are the crowned head of state is not really possible! The Aston Martin was sold and the new owner crashed it into oblivion. The bonnet and the front wings were completely torn away from the chassis – which explains how a royal sports car eventually found its way to a muddy yard in Gembloux.
In 1955, King Baudoin bought a new Aston Martin: a DB2/4 with a roof. This car, fully restored, was sold at auction in 2020 for 271,000 euros.

2.600 cc
6 In-line
102 ex. (DB2 DHC)

Mahy - a Family of Cars
09/09/2021 - 31/10/2021

Vynckier Site
Nieuwevaart 51-53
Gent
Belgium
   

Taken in: Belgium / Flanders / Arrondissement of Ghent / Sas van Gent Wijk (show map)

Taken on: September 23, 2021

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Sets appears in: • Mahy : a Family of Cars - Gent, Belgium 2021 • Aston Martin - Lagonda

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Camera: Nikon Df, f/9.0, 1.6 sec, 29mm, ISO 200 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Nikon Df
Lens:	24.0-70.0 mm f/2.8
Aperture:	f/9.0
Exposure Time:	1.6
Focal Length:	29mm
ISO:	200
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	No Flash
Exposure Program:	Aperture-priority AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Saturation:	High
Sharpness:	Hard
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
Software:	Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 5.6 (Macintosh)
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