The sellers had idolized James Bond since he had first appeared on the movie screen in the early 1960s and as car enthusiasts the iconic DB5 was a large part of their appreciation. It was not until the late 1990s that they made this addition, as always their focus being on finding a good original example of the model and since James Bond was British and drove a right hand drive car, they looked to the UK to find their DB5. The car that they were able to source was a fine basis with known and concise history from new. A large file with the car includes its original UK registration/log book which confirms the Aston to have been registered 'DYY 615C' on March 29, 1965 to Sandhurst Stationers of Kingston-On-Thames, Surrey. A copy of the Aston Works records note it being delivered the following day and that it was in Goodwood Green livery with a beige interior. Four successive owners to 1971 put it into the long term ownership of J.W.H. Smith of Herne Bay in Kent. Writing to the former owner in 1996, Mr. Smith's son stated his father to have 'used it as his daily transport through to the late Seventies by which time the 70 mph speed limit had come into force, this made him lose some of his interest in the car!' At this point the car was laid up for nearly a decade, then re-commissioned by local car restorer Peter Thurston. On file are various bills for servicing and maintenance over the course of Mr. Smith's ownership. The Aston was subsequently sold to Dave McDonnell of Cleveland, UK, who had various work carried out on the car, but it was never totally restored. Its mileage to the point it left the UK was just over 92,000. It was acquired by the present owners in 1999 and shipped to the U.S. Although realizing their dream, they weren't immediately familiar with the workings of the DB5 and they tell an amusing tale of running out of gas when going to collect it and struggling to find the catch for the gas caps (which are of course neatly tucked into roof panels above the rear quarter windows.) Throughout the car's life to this point it had been green, as its original registration attests, but James Bond didn't drive a green DB5 and it was not long before a necessary 'bare metal' repaint to Silver Birch livery was commissioned. At the same time the interior was refurbished from tan to dark blue leather, with headlining and carpet material supplied by the factory. Ever concentrated on the details the owners wrote to Aston Martin requesting the correct formula for Silver Birch to make sure that it was an entirely accurate Bond DB5 clone, machine guns etc. aside, although a modern stereo is fitted. On its completion in 2001 it was shown at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and since that time the sellers have enjoyed the Aston, living another of their childhood dreams. Today the car presents as a tidy and usable example of the model, which has for the most part been used rather than shown and has never had nor has it needed a complete restoration. Its repaint and interior show light use/wear, but none excessively. There are various invoices on file for parts from the factory and in house maintenance. Seemingly breaking with their Italian maker theme, the Superleggera bodywork by Touring of Milan keeps the thread for the collection, and proves what a winning combination the Anglo-Italian automobile can be.
The sellers had idolized James Bond since he had first appeared on the movie screen in the early 1960s and as car enthusiasts the iconic DB5 was a large part of their appreciation. It was not until the late 1990s that they made this addition, as always their focus being on finding a good original example of the model and since James Bond was British and drove a right hand drive car, they looked to the UK to find their DB5. The car that they were able to source was a fine basis with known and concise history from new. A large file with the car includes its original UK registration/log book which confirms the Aston to have been registered 'DYY 615C' on March 29, 1965 to Sandhurst Stationers of Kingston-On-Thames, Surrey. A copy of the Aston Works records note it being delivered the following day and that it was in Goodwood Green livery with a beige interior. Four successive owners to 1971 put it into the long term ownership of J.W.H. Smith of Herne Bay in Kent. Writing to the former owner in 1996, Mr. Smith's son stated his father to have 'used it as his daily transport through to the late Seventies by which time the 70 mph speed limit had come into force, this made him lose some of his interest in the car!' At this point the car was laid up for nearly a decade, then re-commissioned by local car restorer Peter Thurston. On file are various bills for servicing and maintenance over the course of Mr. Smith's ownership. The Aston was subsequently sold to Dave McDonnell of Cleveland, UK, who had various work carried out on the car, but it was never totally restored. Its mileage to the point it left the UK was just over 92,000. It was acquired by the present owners in 1999 and shipped to the U.S. Although realizing their dream, they weren't immediately familiar with the workings of the DB5 and they tell an amusing tale of running out of gas when going to collect it and struggling to find the catch for the gas caps (which are of course neatly tucked into roof panels above the rear quarter windows.) Throughout the car's life to this point it had been green, as its original registration attests, but James Bond didn't drive a green DB5 and it was not long before a necessary 'bare metal' repaint to Silver Birch livery was commissioned. At the same time the interior was refurbished from tan to dark blue leather, with headlining and carpet material supplied by the factory. Ever concentrated on the details the owners wrote to Aston Martin requesting the correct formula for Silver Birch to make sure that it was an entirely accurate Bond DB5 clone, machine guns etc. aside, although a modern stereo is fitted. On its completion in 2001 it was shown at the Greenwich Concours d'Elegance and since that time the sellers have enjoyed the Aston, living another of their childhood dreams. Today the car presents as a tidy and usable example of the model, which has for the most part been used rather than shown and has never had nor has it needed a complete restoration. Its repaint and interior show light use/wear, but none excessively. There are various invoices on file for parts from the factory and in house maintenance. Seemingly breaking with their Italian maker theme, the Superleggera bodywork by Touring of Milan keeps the thread for the collection, and proves what a winning combination the Anglo-Italian automobile can be.
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
