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Since debuting with bulletproof windows, rotating license plates and an ejector seat during its introduction to Sean Connery in Goldfinger in 1964, the Aston Martin DB5 has been as synonymous with the James Bond franchise as shaken martinis.
The DB5 was used again in Thunderball a year later and then, despite clearly pairing as well with 007 as a well-timed witticism, didn’t reappear in a Bond film until 1995’s GoldenEye.
The car in that film, a ‘65 model with a six-cylinder, four-liter engine capable of hitting 150 miles per hour, appeared onscreen for the first time at the same time as the new Bond, Pierce Brosnan.
After Brosnan used the DB5 to race villainess Xenia Onatopp in her red Ferrari F355 GTS in the hills above Monaco, it sold at auction in 2001 for a then-record $210,600, becoming the most valuable piece of Bond memorabilia ever sold in the process.
Though that record was smashed in 2010 when the Goldfinger DB5 sold for around $4.6 million, the GoldenEye model does have a slight chance of recapturing its title when it crosses the block this July on Friday the 13th at the Goodwood Festival of Speed sale courtesy of Bonhams.
While it likely won’t end up selling for as much as the Goldfinger DB5 is now worth — estimated to be $10 million — the ‘65 Aston Martin could sell for around the same $4.6-million price, Ian Fleming Foundation advisor and Bond vehicle expert Doug Redenius told RealClearLife.
“The original Goldfinger DB5 is in a private collection and it is the most valuable,” Redenius told RCL. “But in the scheme of Bond cars, this one will far surpass what Elon Musk paid for the Lotus submarine car [from The Spy Who Loved Me]. I think this car will bring anywhere from $3 to $5 million and it wouldn’t be a shock to me if it brought more than that.”
While not as important as the original, this DB5 does have a special spot in the Bond pantheon.
“If it were to stand out for any particular reason, it would stand out because it was the first car Pierce Brosnan drove as James Bond,” Redenius said. “I think there is a little significance there. Plus it was driven at the beginning of the film in the pre-title chase scene. It was a pretty thrilling chase scene with the Ferrari.”
As valuable as it would be as the highlight of a Bond memorabilia collection, the ‘65 DB5 could have even more import as the centerpiece of an automotive investment portfolio.
“For people with lots of disposable income and an inkling to own a Bond car, there’s no better one to own than this one,” Redenius said. “There might be another one that comes up for auction in a couple of years, but you’re not going to pay for it what you’re going to pay for it today. There’s no fear that Bond cars are going to depreciate. This car is only going to continue to rise in value as the years go by.”
Here’s the car in action in GoldenEye. Pardon their French.
Images: Bonhams/MARCWILLMOT.COM
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