A left-hand drive Aston Martin DB5 with original Portuguese registration has made almost €1 million at auction.
The hammer price comfortably exceeded the Bonhams estimate and went for €936,000.
The 1965 export to Portugal was one of the stars of the Bonhams auction in London whose experts had valued the classic at between €600,000 and €900,000.
The DB5 Vantage, one of the most iconic models in the history of the brand, originally was delivered to an importer in Lisbon who supplied it to a private buyer. The UK price at the time was around £4,000, twice the price on a Jaguar E-type. With import taxes, the original owner parted with a medium-sized fortune.
The maintenance was carried out in the Palma and Morgado garage in Lisbon which specialises in Ferraris.
This DB5 Vantage - only 65 models were made with the Vantage engine – stayed with its first owner until 1976. With only 34,000 kilometres on the clock, the car was bought by António Portela de Morais and remained under the family’s care until now, spending 1985 to 2000 in the Museu do Caramulo.
The Aston Martin DB5 marque was designed by the Italian coachbuilder Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Released in 1963, it was an evolution of the final series of DB4 in a series named to honour Sir David Brown who owned Aston Martin from 1947 to 1972.
The high-performance DB5 Vantage was introduced in 1964 featuring three Weber twin-choke 45DCOE side-draft carburettors and revised camshaft profiles, delivering greater top-end performance at the expense of overall flexibility, especially as legendary Webers are renowned as 'full-throttle' devices.
This engine produces 315 hp. Only 65 DB5 Vantage coupés were built, legend has it that the company made a loss on each one despite the eye-watering selling price. This latest example to be auctioned had only 51,228 kilometres on the clock and has its original paintwork.
The DB5 is most famous as the marquee of the iconic James Bond car, the silver-birch DB5 first appearing in Goldfinger (1964) which starred Sean Connery.
The first DB5 prototype used in Goldfinger, chassis number DP/216/1, later was stripped of its weapons and gadgets and resold. Subsequent owners refitted non-original weaponry and it later appeared in the 1981 film, The Cannonball Run, driven by Roger Moore. This DB5 was stolen in 1997 from its Florida owner and is still missing.
Standard equipment on production DB5s included reclining seats, wool pile carpets, electric windows, twin fuel tanks, chrome wire wheels, oil cooler, magnesium-alloy body built to superleggera patent technique, full leather trim in the cabin and even a fire extinguisher.
In addition to an Aston Martin DB5 appearing in Goldfinger, various versions have popped up in Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre.
This 'close to a million euro' DB5 is as good as they get, but who is the new owner?
Bond: Ejector seat? You're joking!
Q: I never joke about my work, 007.
