As I cower indoors due to oppressive heat, humidity and torrential thunderstorms, it occurs to me that the  more temperate weather — and therefore project season — is only a few months away. If you’re jonesing for a car project, maybe a big one that will take several years, then today’s Good Find Friday car might be for you. For those of more modest means who dream of owning an iconic James Bond car, I’ve found a forlorn Aston Martin DB2 with the potential to be great.

The Aston Martin DB2 was introduced in 1950 as the company’s first production model under David Brown’s ownership to feature a dual overhead cam straight-six engine, sourced from Lagonda. Built on a tubular chassis with independent front suspension and a live rear axle, the DB2 was offered in both closed coupé and drophead coupé body styles. Approximately 410 units were produced between 1950 and 1953, including a limited number of Vantage models with higher-performance engine tuning.

This Aston Martin DB2 was quite obviously the victim of a fire and was seriously damaged as a result. It’s currently listed for sale on Facebook Marketplace with an asking price of $50,000 or best offer.

The DB2 was Aston Martin’s first successful post-war production car, and was the first Aston fitted with Lagonda’s 2.6 liter inline six.

Bodywork on the DB2 was aluminum over a tubular structure. The design of the DB2 was a significant upgrade on looks compared to the 2-Liter, and in particular the rear is exceptionally sensuous with a small rear window and a tiny trunk that really just provided access to the spare tire. The later DB2/4 added a taller greenhouse and a hatchback door for trunk access and it’s not nearly as attractive.

The rear of this car, sadly, has been completely melted by fire with just the inner wheel wells and the tubular structure remaining. Similarly, the roof is gone, though amazingly the rear quarter window shape is intact.

The interior is very badly burned and the photos avoid showing the dashboard. When nicely restored or preserved, the cockpit of a DB2 is rather beautiful with centrally mounted gauges and banjo steering wheel. In the case of this vehicle, you’re starting from scratch and interior components for a DB2 are pretty scarce. Some serious time will be spent sourcing replacements.

The engine bay was not spared from the conflagration, though many of the major components like the generator, valve covers, radiator and caps, carburetors and steering box seem intact. Needless to say, it will all need to be rebuilt. The car is, amazingly, a roller, though the rear wire wheels show discoloration from heat. Undoubtedly, new tires were fitted.

Speaking of heat damage, a big concern with fire victim cars is weakened metal due to heat exposure. The rear wheels are probably no longer safe, and it’s entirely possible the entire chassis is compromised, but especially at the rear.

Mentioned in the listing, and I’m buying the lede here, is that the seller has a “James Bond” fiberglass DB5 body shell “to go with it.” Now the wheelbase for a DB2 is 99 inches, just one inch longer than DB5, meaning if the chassis were sound, you could potentially build this up to be a DB5 replica. Of course, such an ambitious project is not for the faint of heart, but it’s been done before with less appropriate donor cars.

The DB2 market is pretty established, with most secondary market sales occurring at high-end live auctions from RM Sotheby’s, Bonhams Cars and the like.

Drophead variants skew the numbers for all DB2 cars, as they frequently can command prices in excess of $200,000. The most recent DB2 Coupe to sell at auction was a 1953 model car sold at RM Sotheby’s London Auction just days ago, where it hammered for $148,484.

I’ve never had much trouble finding project car comparables for vintage Aston Martins, a fact I should consider investigating. I digress — a 1950 Aston Martin DB2 project car sold back in November of last year for $50,519. That particular car was almost fully intact and not burnt to a crisp.

Given the market price of a project DB2 coupe is somewhere in the $50,000 range, the asking price from the seller is ambitious. What is unclear is whether the fiberglass DB5 shell is included in the price or not. If so, the price starts to look better. A full fiberglass DB5 shell could run you $25,000 easy, if you could find one.

The future of the DB2 is more uncertain. If it’s even restorable, it’s likely not worth the investment as you’ll put far more into the car than it will ever be worth. As the potential platform for a recreation of one of the most iconic cars in movie history, it could make more sense. Bonus points if you add all the cool gadgets from Goldfinger, which would be a lot easier to do with a blank slate.

What do you think? Restore, build a plastic Bond car, or scrap it for parts? Let me know in the comments!

Wolf and Mare provides car finding, appraisal and auction services for sellers and buyers of collector European cars. We also provide importation services. Give us a call or drop us a line!