James Bond’s 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Sells for More Than $6.3 Million
RM Sotheby’s did well by adding a third night to its 2019 Monterey auction roster, featuring Aston Martins exclusively. The star of the evening, a 1965 DB5 that was one of three existing screen cars from the popular 007 franchise movie, Goldfinger, sold for a huge $6,385,000 to plenty of applause from the auction room.
Applause came first when the ex-Bond DB5 rolled onto the block in the Portola Plaza Hotel event space after a short teaser video played, showing the car screeching around twisting roads with appropriately Bond-esque music and cinematography. Bidding started quick and steady, with six bidders vying for the car both in the room and on the telephone, though once bids crested $4.5 million, then $5 million, the remaining bids were given more thoughtfully. In all, it took nearly five minutes before the car was hammered sold to a bidder in the room.
As what may be the most famous car in the world, James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 (chassis number DB5/2008/R for the trainspotting types) was made just for the Goldfinger movie, with its incorporated prop machine guns, armored shield, navigation system, and various other gizmos having been installed when the car was being built. Later, the DB5 was used as a promotional car for the next Bond movie, Thunderball. It was restored in Switzerland in 2012 and the car’s props are said to be functioning as they were made to do for the film.
The DB5’s pre-sale estimate, given by RM Sotheby’s, was $4 million to $6 million, so the final result of $6.38 million with commission (high bid of $5.8 million) did well against it. So well that it set a new auction record price for a DB5.
The RM Sotheby’s auction was held in conjunction with Aston Martin Works. RM Sotheby’s auctions continue through Saturday evening with two cars that could possibly break the $20 million dollar mark: a 1939 Porsche Type 64 prototype and a 1994 McLaren F1 LM-spec.
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