Description
The best offer of over £225, 000 wil secure ownership of this outstanding example of Newport Pagnell's finest.
This car has a wonderfully documented history that actually starts with a factory build sheet that reveals not only the first owner – a Mr G Lewis of Lewis Separates in London – but also confirms that the registration you see today remains from new and the colour combination of Silver Birch over Black is how she left the factory.
But this well-travelled lady has been the love of a number of enthusiastic owners who have combined over the years to deliver probably the best looking, best prepared DB6 on the market. She was so loved by the most recent owner and his wife that the gave the car a pet name “Gracie” – it started as a way of remembering the registration, they had taken the first and last letters of the registration prefix GK and associated it with the most glamorous woman of the car’s era – Princess Grace of Monaco, formerly Grace Kelly. And the name Gracie stuck!
We cannot know how long Mr Lewis kept the car but we have a later, very clear lineage of ownership – in 1982, she was under the stewardship of a J M Dennison of Shipley in Yorkshire. Some of the early invoices are from Post Vintage Engineering who confirm that the owner at that time was a Bob Stern, a professional photographer. The team at Post Vintage recall him with a little phrase her used to remember the registration number “God Cooks Kippers 3 times on Friday”. The car stayed in Yorkshire with a Mr Blackburn from 1988 through to 1992. She moved south to Hampton in Middlesex with a Mr Kearney until 2002 and on to a Mr Rautenbach in Guildford where she stayed until 2012.
This owner availed himself of the services of Aston specialist R S Williams and, after normal careful preparation, the car was sold through the same company to the latest owner in May 2013.
How do we know the history – well all are clearly recorded and all diligently maintained the cars adding their own mark of ownership. In those years, she has been Red and back to Silver, she saw the sluggish automatic box replaced with a proper 5 speed ZF manual change, the original 4 litre engine with SU carburettors upgraded to full 4. 2 Vantage specification with Webers and the power steering changed for a manual rack. Altogether, it makes the car an absolute delight to drive.
And she has been driven – the history folder includes adventures at AMOC Concours and rallies. The owners took her on the Skyfall Rally during which visited they visited the locations used in the James Bond film. They also went on the 100th Anniversary Targa Florio where Gracie performed perfectly in a full trip around Sicily. For more local fame, she has even featured on the front cover of the AMOC quarterly magazine as the owner took a prominent part in his local area.
Two beautifully presented green leather RSW history folders hold a treasure of provenance and serve to underline the excellence of the car.
We believe that any discerning Aston Martin buyer – enthusiast or novice – will appreciate the depth of history that comes with this car.
Restored by the renowned Aston Martin specialist, RS Williams, Gracie is presented as a pristine example. But this is no trailer queen – the 4. 2 engine is responsive and she has the capacity to be comfortable in modern day traffic.
Probably the best driving DB6 we have experienced in many years.
