Aston Martin found rotting in a garage after 30 years is put up for sale for £100,000 (PHOTO)

It may look like a rusty wreck, but this ultra-rare Aston Martin will still set you back a pretty penny – and will cost a further £250,000 to restore to its former glory.

For the 1949 Aston Martin Two-Litre Sports was just the fourth car built by the iconic British car company after it was bought by David Brown.

The much-coveted car, which retrospectively became known as the DB1, is one of just 15 ever made and nine still in existence.

In need of TLC: This Aston Martin Two-Litre Sports is on the market for almost £100,000 but will cost a further £250,000 to restore to its former glory
In need of TLC: This Aston Martin Two-Litre Sports is on the market for almost £100,000 but will cost a further £250,000 to restore to its former glory
In demand: The car was one of just 15 made and one of eight or nine still in existence, so it is highly desirable despite its poor condition
In demand: The car was one of just 15 made and one of eight or nine still in existence, so it is highly desirable despite its poor condition
Pricey: A DB1 in mint condition, like the one pictured, can sell for in excess of £400,000
Pricey: A DB1 in mint condition, like the one pictured, can sell for in excess of £400,000

But it is in need of some tender loving care from a car enthusiast with plenty of spare cash to spend after three decades of decay.

Specialist dealer Aston Workshop has the motor on the market for £99,950 in the hope that someone will snap it up with the intention of restoring it.

Whoever takes on the project could end up making a tidy profit in the end however, with mint condition DB1s usually shifting for more than £400,000, with prices of classic Aston Martins rising in the current market.

Clive Dickinson, general manager for Durham-based Aston Workshop, said: ‘The chassis is good and it is a complete car but it is need of a serious restoration.

‘The body looks quite bad but we don’t think it will need to be replaced and it still has its original chassis and engine which is important.

‘Any rare Aston Martin such as this model is desirable and values are really going up at the moment.

‘About 90 per cent of all Aston Martins ever built still exist but we think there are just eight or nine of the 15 Two-Litres left and only two others we know about in the UK.

Rare: The Aston Martin has been bought by a specialist dealer from its previous owner in Scotland where it was left decaying in a garage for three decades
Rare: The Aston Martin has been bought by a specialist dealer from its previous owner in Scotland where it was left decaying in a garage for three decades

Rare: The Aston Martin has been bought by a specialist dealer from its previous owner in Scotland where it was left decaying in a garage for three decades

New model: The car was just the fourth made after David Brown bought the iconic motor company in 1947
New era: The car was just the fourth made after David Brown bought the iconic motor company in 1947

Iconic: The car later became known as the DB1 with Brown's DB initials continuing to live on in the current Aston Martin range, with the firm currently building the DB9
Iconic: The car later became known as the DB1 with Brown’s DB initials continuing to live on in the current Aston Martin range, with the firm currently building the DB9

‘The past ten years has seen some prices appreciate by more than 600 per cent. The Aston is a really pretty car and it will look fantastic when restored.

A CAR COLLECTOR’S DREAM

It was one of just 15 DB1s ever made, but what will you get for your £100,000:

  • A two-litre, four cylinder push rod, 90hp (67kw) engine designed by Claude Hill
  • A top speed of 93mph
  • 0-60mph in 19.6 secs
  • Spaceframe chassis
  • Independent suspension
  • Transmission: Four-speed manual
  • Length: 176 inches
  • Width: 67.5 inches

‘The car will probably cost around £250,000 to restore and take between a year and 18 months.’

David Brown took over the Aston Martin in 1947 with the Two-Litre Sports model the first car built under his management.

It later became known as the DB1 with Brown’s DB initials continuing to live on in the current Aston Martin range, with the firm currently building the DB9.

As the original name suggests, the car is powered by a 2-litre engine which developed a modest 90bhp when it was new – giving the Aston a top speed of a mere 93mph.

This is less than half the top speed a current Aston Martin is capable of but its impressive 24mpg makes it greener than all of the current range barring the Toyota-based Cygnet.

The car’s brochure states: ‘The discriminating motorist will find every virtue he is likely to look for – beauty of styling, superb comfort, speed with safety and power to spare.’

It adds: ‘You will certainly be proud to own one; you could even be excused for boasting about it.’

David Brown is understood to have opted against larger scale production of the car because he was underwhelmed by its performance, focusing the firm’s resources onto the more powerful DB2.

This particular model was the fourth ‘DB1’ to leave the firm’s factory in Feltham, Middlesex and was delivered to Cyril Williams (Motors) Ltd in 1949 in its original livery of Alpine Blue with Grey Hide.

The car was then chosen to represent Aston Martin at the Motor Show of that year where it was sold to another dealer, Brooklands Motors.

Top of the range: As the original name suggests, the car is powered by a 2-litre engine which developed a modest 90bhp when it was new - giving the Aston a top speed of a mere 93mph
Top of the range: As the original name suggests, the car is powered by a 2-litre engine which developed a modest 90bhp when it was new - giving the Aston a top speed of a mere 93mph
 Original: The body looks quite bad but dealers don’t think it will need to be replaced and it still has its original chassis and engine
Underwhelming: David Brown is understood to have opted against larger scale production of the car because he was underwhelmed by its performance

A ‘continuation’ log book from 1963 shows it was moved to Scotland that year where it remained until Aston Workshop recently bought it.

For the past 41 years it has had just one owner and has been kept off the road since 1983.

Aston Workshop is calling the classic sports car one of the world’s most exciting Aston Martin restoration projects.

Mr Dickinson added: ‘The DB1 was the last Aston Martin to have a four-cylinder engine with David Brown fitting the DB2 with a more powerful six-cylinder.

‘It was capable of nearly 100mph when it was new so it was quite respectable at the time but this wasn’t fast enough for David Brown.’

Daily Mail UK

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