The latest look back at old classified advertisements features a 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT offered for sale in the March 1987 issue of Hemmings for $59,500.
The Aston Martin DB4GT was a special lightweight, high-performance version of the DB4. Introduced at the 1959 London Motor Show, the GT featured a thin, lightweight aluminum body and enclosed headlights. The wheelbase was dramatically reduced five inches from a standard DB4, in an effort to improve handling and to further reduce the weight.
The Aston Martin’s 3670 cc DOHC straight six cylinder engine was upgraded with a new twin-plug head, triple Weber carburetors and higher compression, resulting in 302 hp. Top speed was 153 mph with a 6.1 second dash to 60 mph.
In total, 75 GTs were built in this body style, plus 19 Zagato bodied cars and one Bertone-styled car christened the Bertone Jet.
This particular 1960 Aston Martin DB4GT, chassis 0112, is reported to be, “correct and original in every detail, ready to race or tour.” The seller also rightly states that the DB4GT “is competitive with the 250 SWB Ferrari at a fraction of the cost.”
Chassis 0112 was last publicly seen at the Coys auction in 1996 where it failed to sell at $135,900. The Cars That Matter September – December 2008 price guide suggests $1,150,000 – $1,500,000 for an Aston Martin DB4GT, while another GT did not sell at the Bonhams Quail auction in August, despite a high bid of $1,200,000.
If you bought the Aston Martin DB4GT for $59,500 in 1987, then your investment would have returned approximately 16% over 21 years.
[Source: Hemmings]
It was indeed a rapidly appreciating car! In October of 1987, another one sold for $90,000 in good condition (outrageous that prices increased by 50% in just 7 months!) But that was nothing. The price escalation began to take full effect after black Monday, and in May 1988, a restored example went for roughly $180,000 at the Geneva Sports Car Auction. And in November 1988, number 112, the same one featured in this ad, was offered by “Wes Cadillac” in HMN for a whopping $345,000!!! In 1989, however, they achieved $800,000. Then the crash came. The values of DB4GT’s took a wallop, because you had multiple opportunities in 1994 to purchase very nice examples at a price on either side of $150,000. Supposedly someone bought one in need of restoration for just under $100,000 around that time. A Zagato was around $600,000. They began to pick up steam again, as in 1998, a Zagato sold for $1Million less commission. Regular GT’s began to follow. In 2000, you still could’ve found one in need of cosmetics for under $200k, but by 2003, you needed $350k; $500k in ’04; $800k in ’06; and finally $1,500,000 today. It is also notable that one of the Zagatos that brought $2.8 MIL at an auction in early 2005 was once sold by Brian Classic in England. This was in late 74/early 75 and the price was about $18,000 USD. DB4GT’s could’ve been had for half that.
Thanks must go out to Greg for supplying SCD with this classified ad, plus more than 1,000 others! This man knows his classifieds, to say the least, and he obviously loves DB4 GTs.
Thanks again Greg!
Wow, very surprising that a car valued at 1.1 MIL couldn’t sell for $135K in 2008. Aston Martins make the most popular cars ever for model car collectors. A vintage one like this should be very valuable.
I would pay $135,000 for it – if I had $135,000