A CLASSIC Aston Martin which languished in a field for 20 years and had so many holes in it that it “looked like Swiss cheese'” is now worth £500,000.
The 1970 DBE Mk2 was driven over to France shortly after it was made but was left abandoned in a field after its driver door caught fire.
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It did not move for some twenty years before someone salvaged the rusty vehicle and moved it into a garage in Lille, north east France.
The Aston Martin gathered dust for another two decades before a wealthy Paris property developer and classic car collector learnt about it “through a pub chat”.
He went to the garage to inspect the car and was so taken by it that he paid an undisclosed sum for it.
At the end of 2019, he had the car transported over to Britain where Aston Service Dorset have carried out a painstaking three-year restoration costing £250,000.
They completely stripped back the car to a bare chassis and converted it into a left hand side drive for the French roads.
Significant repairs were carried out to the thin sheet steel section, focusing on the engine bay area, and the vehicle’s rear end.
Its body paint has been changed from red to mink, a traditional Aston Martin colour, with a navy leather interior.
The rebuilt and upgraded 4.2-litre engine is capable of 150mph but it is not known how many miles were put on the clock in the 1970s as the car does not have its original odometer.
The car is believed to now be worth half a million pounds on the market, suggesting the collector stands to make a tidy profit if he offloads it.
Antony Forshaw, of Aston Service Dorset near Ferndown, a family-run business set up in 1934, said: “This was originally a UK car but fairly early on it went to France and then there was a fire in the driver’s door.
“The car was left in a field for 20 years then moved to a garage in Lille where it stayed for 20 more.
“I believe our client, a French property developer, had about the car through word of mouth.
“It captured his interest and he went along to see it then bought it, before contacting us as we have restored Astons for him in the past.”
He continued: “When we got the Aston was so corroded and had so many holes in it it looked like Swiss cheese.
“We changed the colour from scarlet red to mink and converted it to a left wheel drive.
“I believe the client initially planned to sell it but he is so happy with the result I’m not so sure what his plans are now.
“Prices do fluctuate but I would say it is worth about £500,000 now.”
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