James Bond's Aston up for sale
Agent 007's actual Aston Martin DB5 - as driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger and Thunderball - to be auctioned in the UK on October 27There have been a few cars that starred on the silver screen that have gone on to become virtual cultural icons. You could argue that among these are the Batmobile, Steve McQueen's Mustang GT 390 from Bullitt, Herbie the irrepressible VW Beetle, and so on.
However, arguably the most desirable of the lot is the gadget-laden 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that James Bond used to foil baddies in epics such as Goldfinger and Thunderball.
As luck would have it (for well-heeled Bond aficionados anyway), said vehicle is set to go under the hammer for the first time in its existence on October 27. The car is being offered by RM Auctions in association with Sotheby's, and it's expected to fetch in excess of $6 million.
The car still wears its original registration plate, FMP 7B, and is said to be the sole remaining (of the two cars used for filming) Bond-ified Aston DB5.
Naturally, you get the full complement of anti-baddie gear (conceived by Oscar-award-winning special effects expert John Stears), including machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen, all controlled from factory-installed toggles and switches hidden in the centre armrest.
It seems a safe bet car-jacking won't ever be something you'll need to fear...
A bit of history: the DB5 was originally loaned to EON Productions for the filming of the two Bond movies, and returned to the Aston Martin Lagonda factory after its subsequent promotional tour.
An American radio broadcaster named Jerry Lee subsequently persuaded the factory to sell the car to him for $US12,000 (probably the best investment he's ever made), and it has remained in his possession for the past 40-plus years, and rarely seen in public during this period.
Mr. Lee plans to use the proceeds from the sale of FMP 7B to further the charitable work of The Jerry Lee Foundation, a multi-national initiative dedicated to solving social problems associated with poverty -- fittingly, with an emphasis on crime prevention.
The car is allegedly presented in "highly original condition" and recently underwent a full re-commissioning program by RM Auto Restoration, returning it to running condition after many years of static display.
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