You'll have a chance to bid on the jacket worn by James Bond '007' creator Ian Fleming when it auctions at Bonhams, next week (November 22). So why not have the car to go with it?
Even though 007 drove a Bentley in Fleming's novels, his silver screen incarnation will always be associated with the iconic silver Aston Martin DB5s of Goldfinger, Thunderball and 2006's Casino Royale.
An American collector paid almost £3 million for the gadget-laden star of those blockbuster movies. But you won't need to spend quite that amount at UK auctioneer H&H's upcoming December 12 sale at the Pavilion Gardens, Derbyshire.
This DB5 may not have any direct Bond provenance. Yet it remains a fine example of one of the world's greatest collector cars.
The DB5 wasn't revolutionary, but a worthy descendent of the DB4 whose Series Five model can be considered a prototype DB5. Not that the DB5 wasn't still a significant step forward when it took to the stage in 1963...
It boasted many of the DB4's innovative features. Like a new platform chassis conceived by Harold Beech, topped by a cage of small diameter tubes clothed in hand-made alloy body panels via a process known as superleggera (lightweight), first evolved by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan.
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Otherwise, the DB5 was faster than its predecessor. This was courtesy of a new 3995cc 282bhp triple carburettor engine, capable of almost 150mph. The DB5 could reach 60mph in a whisker over seven seconds.
An initial option of a five-speed ZF gearbox eventually became the standard fitment. Other improvements to the car's general specification included an alternator in place of the dynamo, reclining seats, pile carpets, electric windows, tinted glass and four silencers for the exhaust.
A total of some 898 DB5s are understood to have been produced at Newport Pagnell, UK. Production then ceased to make way for the larger, Kamm-tailed DB6 in late 1965.
This particular car was first supplied to Banner Plant Ltd of Sheffield, and was first road registered as "DFV 5C" on September 7 1965. Much like Bond's Goldfinger DB5, this classic automobile is finished in Silver Metallic and trimmed in Black leather.
According to H&H, it is apparently one of just 65 DB5 saloons to be equipped with the triple-Weber Vantage engine, which offered 314bhp on tap when new.
Subsequent conversions mean it can today be fuelled with unleaded petrol. The car has also been modified to compete in sprints, hill climbs and track days - although the vendor has frequently competed with the car, he stresses that it has never been abused on road or track.
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In fact, "DFV 5C" was among four of his Aston Martins to participate in the opening of the M6 Toll Road during December 2003. A photograph of the car at the event was published in a February 2004 edition of the Aston Martin Owners' Club magazine.
H&H's lot notes state that the car will be sold complete "with a fresh MOT and history file containing sundry invoices, correspondence, copy build sheet, details of past MOTs dating back to 1976 etc..."
The DB5 will appear estimated at £190,000-250,000 ($401,570).
With "good" bodywork, this car boasts both rarity and quality - and will even sell with a complimentary deactivated Walther PPK pistol as a nod to a certain very famous British secret agent...
Watch this space for more news on the sale.
