If you fancy yourself as the new James Bond and you have a few million pounds lying around then you can buy yourself with one of the original James Bond Aston Martin DB5′s. It was built for the films Goldfinger and Thunderball in the mid 1960′s and used to promote the films in the US.
This original 1965 Aston Martin DB5 can be yours for £3 million ($4.5M). It is one of only four which were made for the James Bond film series which starred Sean Connery as sophisticated secret agent 007.
Of the four cars made only two of them were fully kitted out with all the gadgets which include imitation machine guns, revolving number plates, rear bullet proof screen and the infamous wheel nut extending tyre slicing device.
This particular DB5 is in pristine condition because it avoided being used in the films themselves but instead was used for promotional purposes before of the release of the films. It toured the USA in 1965 for the release of Thunderball and is regarded as one of the four original DB5 Bond cars and one of only 2 to have all the gadgets fitted.
After the films PR was over, JCB boss and car collector Sir Anthony Bamford bought the car and used it on his Midlands estate. It stayed there until 1970 when he sold it on to an American businessman and Tennessee museum owner who had it until 2006 when it was sold for $2 million.
The actual car that is used in the films Goldfinger and Thunderball and the only other one which had all the gadgets fitted, disappeared from the Florida aircraft hangar it was being stored in during the 1990s and to this day no one knows of its whereabouts.
This car is being marketed as “the most famous car in the world”, a slogan first used when it was showcased and the 1964 worlds fair, by the Aston Martin specialists RS Williams from their Surrey base. The £3 million price tag is 10 times the price you would pay for a similar age and condition model that does not have the 007 film connections and makes it one of the most expensive movie cars ever to be put up for sale.
It is the car’s history, James Bond association and gadgets that have upped the price tag to £3 million. Many of the gadgets are operated from under the centre arm console which opens up to reveal a control panel.
The DB5 was the first Aston Martin to feature in a Bond film, the 1964 Goldfinger. It was a partnership that would span 11 Bond films and 50 years, although it very nearly didn’t happen.
During the pre-production of Goldfinger, the film’s producer Cubby Broccoli had wanted to use a Jaguar E type but the boss of Jaguar Sir William Lyons refused to lend the film company the three cars that broccoli had requested so he reverted back to the Aston Martin which was originally used by Ian Fleming in the books at the last moment.
The car comes with standard 4 litre straight six engine developing 280 brake horsepower and giving it a top speed of 150 mph.
The gadgets that you can show off down the pub with include the revolving license plate number which can show a British, French or Swiss plate, a radar system, hidden carphone, a passenger ejector seat, smoke and oil blaster, bullet-proof screen and a tyre shredding device. It also has two machine guns (imitation) hidden behind the front indicator lights.
In 2010 one of the other cars used in the film Goldfinger, sold for £2.9 million at the RM auctions Battersea sale though the cars gadgets had been retrofitted the that car after the film’s success.
Richard Williams the boss of RS Williams said “We are privileged to offer one of the original James Bond Aston Martin DB5′s”
He went on to say “This is one of the most famous cars in the world and is extremely well sought-after, Aston Martin only built four models for the films and the most important one that appeared in the films was stolen and its whereabouts is still unknown. This is the second most important as it was built at the same time with all the gadgets to help promote the film. It is in superb condition and will be a great investment as there has been a huge amount of interest in it from all around the world”.
