London :A specially modified 1954 Aston Martin sports car owned by Queen Elizabeth II’s husband Prince Philip will go on sale in the UK next month and may fetch up to 450,000 pounds.
The 1954 Lagonda 3 Litre Drophead Coupe was made to order for the Duke of Edinburgh with bespoke features, such as the extra vanity mirror so that the monarch could fix her hat and a radio telephone.
The convertible served as Philip’s personal car for around seven years and is worth between 350,000 to 450,000 pounds when it comes on the market next month, ‘The Telegraph’ reported.
“This car is part of our history. The accompanying paperwork beggars belief,” said Damian Jones, sales manager at auction house H&H.
“There is an amusing story about Prince Phillip driving Her Majesty through London in this car and being held up by a policeman on point duty directing traffic. When the policeman saw who was in the Lagonda he did a double take and swiftly waved them on,” Jones said.
The car, which has 50,000 miles on the clock, will be offered for sale for the first time in nearly 40 years at public auction in late April at the Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridgeshire.
The four-seater upholstered in grey leather has appeared in innumerable press photographs and newsreel films.
The Duke is said to have delighted using radio telephone to make calls to his wife in Buckingham Palace, and apparently enjoyed disguising his voice when speaking with his children, Prince Charles and Princess Anne.
It is thought to be the only one of the Duke’s personal cars to be in private hands now when it comes up for sale.
The Lagonda engine and bodywork have recently been extensively overhauled and the original paint scheme restored.
PTI