Next week sees the opening of the 74th Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance in California, with hundreds of the world’s finest pre- and post-war classic cars competing to be crowned best in show. Among them will be a stunning and unique restoration of a 1935 Aston Martin Mk2 Sports Saloon – one of only 24 made – that was found in a suburban garage in Liverpool.
The garage that the Aston Martin was found in © H&H Classics
“It’s believed to be the first Aston Martin to be painted in the marque’s now trademark metallic green, a new ICI paint technology at the time,” says the car’s owner, Neil Pickstone, 62, who bought the car at auction for £67,500 in 2019. Before that the car had been in the same family for 66 years, having been bought in 1953 by electrical engineer Philip Kenyon. Kenyon had been involved in the development of radar during the second world war, and was a member of the Radio Security Service, a branch of British intelligence involved in cracking German Morse code transmissions. His activities during the war raised suspicions among his neighbours that he was a “fifth columnist” – he had a flagpole in his back yard that he used as a radio mast – but the authorities, aware of his true role, took no action.
