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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone - Little Italy

Name: Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone 1954
Brand: Aston Martin

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Created on December 2, 2023

Text:

Paul Krüger

Photos:

RM/Sotheby's

Archiv/Werk

Mike Maez - Courtesy Gooding & Company

Archiv Deutsches Museum - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

Archiv

RM/Sotheby's

Archiv/Werk

Mike Maez - Courtesy Gooding & Company

Archiv Deutsches Museum - Courtesy RM/Sotheby's

Archiv

Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - painted red in the meantime, today it wears the original light blue metallic again

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - one-off for a French customer

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - a successful mix: not as simple as a Pininfarina and not as over-the-top as a Ghia Supersonic

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - The rear is somewhat reminiscent of the NSU Sport-Prinz

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - The rear wheel arch and the too steeply sloping window line are the main points of criticism

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - it is uncertain whether these lines were really made by Franco Scaglione

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Front view: The radiator grille skillfully modifies the typical Aston Martin motif

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - rear view: the low rear window makes it look particularly wide and compact

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Simple: painted wire wheels with chrome-plated wing nuts

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - lettering of the technology supplier and coat of arms of the coachbuilder on the fender

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - lightweight roof structure with thin posts and lots of glass

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - the most striking feature is the huge panoramic rear window

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Shield on the rear panel

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - slim, rearward sloping B-pillar

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Simple: round headlights, round indicators

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - elaborate radiator grille with framed emblem

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - with Bertone, the Aston Martin grille was wider than high for the first time

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - No reason for jealousy: Emblem without reference to Wacky Arnolt

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Pout: Bumper with lowered center section

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - model USA: window curvature and panoramic windshield are reminiscent of Raymond Loewy's Studebaker Starliner

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Tail lights from Simca Vedette

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Multinational: English technology, Italian bodywork, French tail lights

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Hot: exhaust tailpipe painted red on the inside

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - tail lights integrated into the bumper

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - work light on the strut of the hood

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - the interior is now light brown again, having been lined in black and red in the meantime

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Solid interior. Pretty detail: the chrome fitting on the telescopically adjustable steering column

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Untypical for an Italian special body: no wooden steering wheel

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Dashboard with polished metal trim and lower edge in body color

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Versatile operation: pull, rotary and toggle switches on the dashboard

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Ashtray and cigar lighter

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - lettering below the dashboard

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Door panel with elbow rest and map pocket

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - light brown leather seats with white piping

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Short gearshift for the four-speed gearbox

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - incidentals: Speedometer and rev counter flank the instrument cluster

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Simple but pleasingly arranged instruments and warning lights

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Smiths tachometer running counterclockwise

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Instrument cluster with four satellites and five functions: The fuel gauge can also display the oil level

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Speedometer with integrated clock and scale up to 140 miles per hour (225 km/h)

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - The 2.9-liter six-cylinder engine delivers 142 hp at 5000 rpm

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - polished valve cover on red cylinder head

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - accurately routed ignition cables with textile sheathing

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - Two SU carburetors supply the six-cylinder engine with fuel

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Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - chassis number LML 765 was the only coupé

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Bertone (1956) - shown in bright color scheme in Turin in 1957

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Bertone (1956) - the coupé with chassis LML 765, exhibited in Turin in the fall of 1958

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - at the 1958 Turin Motor Show

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Bertone Deluxe Competition Spider (1954) - offered by Gooding & Company at the Pebble Beach Auction 2016

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - In the evening light

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - at full speed

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - fast and unique GT

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Aston Martin DB 2/4 Berlinetta Bertone (1954) - certainly one of the faster cars at the time

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Summary

Stanley Arnolt had made a name for himself in the USA in 1952 with English technology in an Italian tailor-made suit. But the continuation of this success seemed to fail. Only a handful of his Aston-Martins with Bertone bodywork were produced. The only coupé among them did not even make it to America at first. This article tells the story of the creation of the Aston Martin DB2/4 Berlinetta Bertone and why its history may be a little different than previously assumed.

This article contains the following chapters

Five weddings and one death
Pigozzi or Pagézy? It doesn't matter, the main thing is France.
The double exhibit
Restoration and de-ferrization

Estimated reading time: 7min

Preview (beginning of the article)

In English, "wacky" means something like "batty" or "crazy". Normally, anyone in their right mind would do everything in their power to avoid being given such a nickname. Or at least hide it as much as possible if you have already acquired it irrevocably. Stanley Harold Arnolt from Chicago, however, wore it like a title of nobility - and to a certain extent rightly so. After all, you had to be more than just a little crazy to want to offer a specially-bodied luxury model under your own name after less than a year and a half in the automobile business. Wacky Arnolt had made a large fortune during the Second World War with small boat engines and then expanded his business in Warsaw, Indiana, with the production of household items before opening a car dealership in Chicago in December 1950. Like his New York colleague Max Hoffman, Arnolt imported European sports and luxury cars, but unlike Hoffman - who mainly sold German and Italian brands - he concentrated on English products from MG, Jaguar, Bentley, Bristol and Rolls-Royce. Soon, however, Wacky was no longer satisfied with the exclusivity of the fine English brands.

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