1964 Aston Martin DB5 Belonged To Someone Cooler Than James Bond

An extraordinary Aston Martin is currently up for sale in the UK. And no, it’s not the new Valkyrie, but something far slower and vastly more interesting.

The car in question is a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible, which was once the pride and joy of Aston Martin’s late chairman, Sir David Brown. It’s one of just 123 built. Brown was responsible for making Aston Martin famous with models ranging from the first DB1 to the DB6. If he were alive today, he’d surely be behind the wheel of a DBS Volante.

Brown purchased Aston Martin in 1947 for just $25,000 after it went bust. That seems to be a common theme for Aston, as Brown sold it on in 1972 after it went bust again. In any case, you can now buy the DB5 who belonged to the man responsible for the DB5, which is responsible for every man on the planet wanting an Aston so they can pretend to be James Bond.

The car is finished in the original Caribbean Pearl hue over Navy Blue leather seats and a matching soft top. Brown went all out when specifying the car, so it comes standard with a five-speed manual gearbox from ZF, a Power Lock rear axle, chromed wire wheels, and a Motorola radio. The standard features include the original vehicle jack, period tool roll, mallet, and owner’s handbook.

Sir Brown owned the car for three years before selling it to John Wilkinson of Wales. While owned by Wilkinson, the car was looked after by Aston Martin in Newport Pagnell. The service records show that the engine block was replaced in 1969.

It seems Wilkinson enjoyed the 4.0-liter straight-six and Welsh road combination quite a bit, as the DB5’s current mileage is 99,323 miles. We respect a man who buys an expensive car and enjoys it. Few things in life are as sad as a low-mileage icon being auctioned off.

The car last changed hands in 1994 but has subsequently attended various Concours events as a show pony.

In 2014, it underwent a complete rebuild. In addition to a bare metal repaint and retrim of the interior, the engine, suspension, gearbox, brakes, and rear axle were rebuilt from the ground up.

This is the first time in 28 years this particular car has been up for sale. According to the seller, it’s in excellent and highly usable condition, so you can simply get in and start living the ultimate Bond fantasy.

All of this can be yours for the small price of $1.4 million via Nicholas Mee Auctions.