A 1961 Aston Martin DB4GT owned by comedy legend Peter Sellers and driven by him in 1963’s The Wrong Arm of the Law is to go under the hammer at Bonhams Goodwood Festival of Speed Sale on 14 July.
As ‘Pearly Gates’ in the 1963 Ealing Comedy Sellers escaped the rozzers in their wheezing Wolseley 6/90 thanks to the 302bhp of the DB4GT’s 3.7-liter straight-six engine. The DB4GT’s getaway go was also aided by its 12-plug head, weight-saving magnesium body panels and Perspex rear window. Almost all of the 75 D4GTs built by Aston Martin were two-seaters, but Sellers’ car had occasional rear seats installed, which allowed his unlikely accomplice Inspector Parker, played by Lionel Jeffries to join him in the speedy chase scene.
A confirmed car enthusiast, Sellers did much of the on-screen driving himself, although the sketchiest stunts were done by Aston Martin dealer Ken Rudd, who also had a cameo as gang member in the movie. During filming the car’s original engine was damaged and the car was returned to Aston Martin where it was fitted with a bigger four-liter block, making it the only DB4GT to have such an engine installed at the factory. A different DB4GT was also used in a scene where it leaps over a humpback bridge, so the suspension on Sellers’ car was saved from harm.
Sellers bought the DB4GT in late 1961 or early 1962 and had it serviced regularly at Aston Martin Feltham where he met expert mechanic Richard Williams, who he hired to look after his car collection. The car had several owner after Sellers, er, sold it, including the chairman of the Aston Martin Owners’ Club, Gerry Keane. It has since been totally rebuilt and repainted in Goodwood Green.
Sellers’ DB4GT ticks all the boxes and “It really has all the credentials to be one of the most coveted examples,” says Bonhams’ Senior Collector Car Consultant James Knight. As a result Bonhams expects the car to fetch £2.2-£2.6 million, but we wouldn’t be surprised if its celebrity provenance sees the price go even higher.
Wasn’t there a blue convertible Aston at the Goodwood FoS auction last year that Sellers had owned ?