Imagine dropping off your car for service at the dealership and getting an Aston Martin DB6 Vantage as your loaner.
Well, if you were Prince Charles of England, you didn’t have to imagine that scenario, and now the 1969 Aston Martin DB6 Vantage Mk 2 that served as the royal loaner is going to auction. H&H Classics expects the car to sell for £260,000 – £300,000 ($333,080 to $385,325).
Prince Charles’ daily driver was a DB6 Mk2 Volante, which also was used in the wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, H&H Classics notes. When that car was being serviced, the royal loaner was LBH 100H, technically a factory demonstrator vehicle that also was used for press photography.
The car has a ZF 5-speed manual gearbox and chrome wire wheels with “three-eared” spinners. Factory records show the car was converted from a late Mk 1 chassis and was “something of a guinea pig” for the new AE Brico fuel-injection system.
That paperwork also shows the car was repainted in August 1970 before being sold to Bradbury’s Garage Ltd. of Kings Heath, Birmingham. The car has been owned by the same family since 1975, but has been used “sparingly” for the past 40 years and shows 83,400 miles on its odometer.
It was repainted again in the early 2000s, and the “troublesome” fuel-injection for the 4.2-liter engine was replaced by a triple SU carburetor setup. The car retains its original black leather upholstery.
The auction is scheduled for March 18 at the Imperial War Museum.
