With values for vintage Aston Martins continuing to climb, the 102-year-old British automaker has launched a program to research and verify the authenticity of its renowned sports and GT cars.
The Assured Provenance certification program is a service offered to Aston Martin owners and collectors that will draw on the expertise of a committee of marque experts under the guidance of the company’s in-house heritage division, Aston Martin Works.
“The values of many Aston Martin heritage models are now such that a formal, officially sanctioned and operated, provenance certification scheme is a natural development for the brand,” Paul Spires, managing director of Aston Martin Works, said in a news release.
The service will involve what the automaker describes as a “painstaking procedure of examination and authentication” with all cars submitted undergoing a digital scan which will be verified and held in a secure archive. There are four levels of verification that take into account not only all-original cars but sports cars that have been modified by Aston Martin.
Each car will be assessed at Aston Martin’s restoration, service and repair facility – Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire – with visual and mechanical investigation by the expert researchers. These details along with the car’s provenance record will be presented to the newly created Sanctioning Committee for deliberation and, finally, a verdict as to whether the car passes muster.
Successful cars will be awarded one of four levels of Assured Provenance ranging from Platinum to Bronze, depending on condition, history and significance. The owners will be presented with a hand-crafted presentation case that contains a photographic record book, the Heritage Assured Provenance certificate, USB with digital data and two sets of dashboard and sill plaques.
There is a fee for the service to the owner, one cost to submit a car and another if the car is successfully verified. But the payback would be a car with its value assured by proven provenance.
“As with everything we do here at Aston Martin Works, we will take the utmost care to painstakingly assess each car submitted to this process, thereby allowing the Sanctioning Committee to make a fully informed decision about the cars put forward for consideration,” Spires said.
