This is a largely complete 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that was disassembled for a restoration, the restoration project was stalled and now the car is being sold in the hopes that a new owner will finish the job.
The Aston Martin DB5 is best-known as James Bond’s car of choice, in recent 007 films they went so far as to build DB5 lookalikes on modern chassis to avoid wrecking any real Astons while filming.
Fast Facts – The Aston Martin DB5
- The Aston Martin DB5 was unveiled in 1963 and sold until 1965 when it was replaced with the slightly larger DB6. The DB5 was an iteration of the earlier DB4 Series V car and to the untrained eye they look almost identical.
- The DB5 used the same body-on-chassis design as the earlier cars, with the patented Superleggera-style body developed by Carrozzeria Touring in Italy.
- Power was provided by a 4.0 liter version of the Tadek Marek-designed straight six, an all-aluminum engine with double overhead cams producing a healthy 282 bhp at 5,500 rpm and 288 lb ft of torque at 3,850 rpm.
- 1,059 examples of the DB5 were originally built, but Aston Martin brought it back into production in 2020 for a limited run of 25 cars.
Aston Martin: A History Speedrun
The story of Aston Martin harks back to 1913 when founders Lionel Martin and Robert Bamford combined their passion for automobiles and motorsport to create a new breed of sports cars. The company’s name pays homage to Lionel Martin’s successful performances at the Aston Hill Climb in Buckinghamshire, England.
This is the cover of the Aston Martin DB5 brochure, here you can see what the DB5 looked like when brand new. Image courtesy of Aston Martin.
Throughout the early years, Aston Martin gained recognition for its racing successes, participating in various motorsport events in Britain and across Europe. That said, it wasn’t until the David Brown-era that the brand truly cemented its place in automotive history.
In 1947, David Brown acquired Aston Martin and ushered in a new era for the company – an era that extends to the modern day. Under his leadership, Aston Martin unveiled the DB series of vehicles, named after Brown’s initials, which would become some of the most respected GT cars of their day.
The Aston Martin DB2, introduced in 1950, marked the true beginning of the DB legacy. Its eye-catching design, lightweight construction, and advanced engine earned it accolades and strong showings at races including the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and races at both Spa and Sebring.
The subsequent DB2/4 and DB Mark III models continued to refine the Aston Martin formula.
The DB5 Superleggera body does appear to be essentially all there, but it’s clear that a lot of work will be required to get the car back on the road.
In 1959 the company would win the 24 Hours of Le Mans with the Aston Martin DBR1/300. The car was piloted by Roy Salvadori and Carroll Shelby, who finished ahead of another Aston Martin DBR1/300 that was driven by Paul Frère and Maurice Trintignant.
When the checkered flag fell the nearest non-Aston was the Ferrari 250 GT LWB of Leon Dernier and Jean Blaton – which finished 26 laps behind them.
The Arrival Of The Aston Martin DB5
While the DB series had established Aston Martin as an iconic marque, it was the introduction of the Aston Martin DB5 that would forever change the brand’s association with popular culture.
In 1964, the DB5 made its silver screen debut in the James Bond film “Goldfinger.” 007 – the suave secret agent, played by Sean Connery, instantly became synonymous with the Aston, and it made the brand a household name.
Equipped with an array of ingenious gadgets, including revolving license plates, machine guns, and an ejector seat, the Q Branch-preparred DB5 captivated audiences worldwide. Its timeless beauty and cutting-edge technology perfectly complemented Bond’s sophisticated persona, creating a partnership that endures to this day.
Although the car won’t sell cheaply by any measure, it will likely sell for a little less than a regular DB5 project car as the engine that comes with it isn’t the original numbers-matching unit.
The Aston Martin DB5’s appearance in subsequent Bond films, including “Thunderball,” “GoldenEye,” “Skyfall,” and “Spectre,” cemented its status as the one true Bond car. More recently the DB5 made a comeback, appearing in a number of modern Bond films helmed by Daniel Craig.
The Aston Martin DB5 Project Car Shown Here
The car you see here is a 1964 DB5 that’s clearly seen better days. After it was manufactured it was retained by Aston Martin’s Sales Department, then later sold to its first private owner – Mr Clarke of the Forth Quarry Co Ltd. of Stirling, Scotland.
Just one other owner is listed in the copy guarantee form, a Mr Wilson, also of Stirling. In 1976 the car was bought by Mr Jürgen Füßl in Germany, he drove it only sparingly, deciding to have it professionally restored by a company in Erding.
There are a significant number of boxes accompanying the car, it will take a fair amount of time to go through them all and catalogue everything before the restoration begins.
Sadly, the company would go bankrupt shortly after starting the restoration process, the car was largely disassembled when work ceased. It’s remained in this same condition now for years, stored exactly as it was when work stopped. Mr Füßl has now passed away, and his wife has decided to sell the car in the hopes that someone will complete the job and get it back on the road.
Aston Martin DB5s are never cheap, however this one may sell for a little less than a normal project car of this nature as the disassembled engine that comes with it is not the original numbers-matching unit.
There were only 1,059 Aston Martin DB5s made and far fewer than that number survive today. As a result every car is important, and every project is well worth the work involved in the restoration process.
This DB5 is now due to cross the auction block with Bonhams on the 14th of July at the Goodwood Festival of Speed with a price guide of £220,000 – £300,000 ($280,000 – $382,000 USD) and no reserve.
If you’d like to read more about it or register to bid you can visit the listing here.
Images courtesy of Bonhams
Articles that Ben has written have been covered on CNN, Popular Mechanics, Smithsonian Magazine, Road & Track Magazine, the official Pinterest blog, the official eBay Motors blog, BuzzFeed, Autoweek Magazine, Wired Magazine, Autoblog, Gear Patrol, Jalopnik, The Verge, and many more.
Silodrome was founded by Ben back in 2010, in the years since the site has grown to become a world leader in the alternative and vintage motoring sector, with well over a million monthly readers from around the world and many hundreds of thousands of followers on social media.
