Aston Martin Bond Car Auction

Who doesn’t remember the Bond car? But only one person was able to become its owner at the October 2010 RM Auctions Automobiles that took place in London where this amazing car was listed for auction. So, at the Aston Martin Bond Car Auction (that’s how the auction was called) car collectors and even fan’s of the Bond movies and of course of the legendary Aston Martin DB5 had the opportunity to buy it or just admirer it if their budget wasn’t proportional with their desire.

The Aston Martin DB5 is one of the two cars that were used during the shot of the 1960s Bond movies “Goldfinger” and “Thunderball” drove by Sean Connery’s character. This amazing car has the original British registration number that proves its authenticity. The second car was stolen in 1997 and it is generally believed that it was destroyed.

The Aston Martin was restored by RM, but still has its 4.0 liter engine, the six inline cylinders and the original gearbox with five manual speeds. Nowadays, the car is equipped with a modern navigation system and it is in a great condition. It can still speed on the road, being able to achieve 145 mph. So, if we are lucky enough we might see it some day on the highway. Also, the car still has all the 007 enhancements, such as: the smoke screen, the bulletproof shield, the nail spreader or the Browning machine guns. All these features are functional and can be tested by using the switches placed in the center armrest.

The RM Auction is the first place where the Bond car was put on sale during a public auction. In fact, the car was sold by Philadelphia Broadcaster to Jerry Lee in 1969 and he owned it until last October 2010. He paid only $12,000 for this incredible Aston Martin. The former owner said that all the money will be donated to his charitable foundation.

This particular RM auction was really exciting and had all those features that make an auction unforgettable. Even if the Aston Martin DB5 was estimated to be sold for the impressive price of $5 millions, the final bid reached only $4,114,760 or £2.6 millions. The new owner paid for the premium package the total sum of $4.61 millions.

The Aston Martin Bond Car Auction started as it was predicted with a £10 millions opening salvo, but the bid wasn’t taken seriously by the auctioneer. In fact, the real auction for the DB5 started with a £2.5 millions bid. Eventually, the Bond car was sold for the second price offered.

The new owner is Harry Yeaggy, an American classic car collector who is the owner of a private museum located in Ohio. He never bided before, but he confessed it was exciting. Moreover, the new owner took the car for a ride, bringing the Bond charm on London’s streets. To complete the “look” the buyer received along with the car a photo signed by Sean Connery taken in Switzerland.

During the auction there were some rumors saying that someone had made an offer for the Aston Martin DB5 before the auction really begun. It was said that the price offered by the mysterious bidder was impressive (around £3.5 millions), but the RM officials didn’t want to confirm this news.  So it remained just a speculation.

The Aston Martin Bond Car Auction was an exciting event that gave the audience the opportunity to see for one more time the incredible Bond car, but this time not on a screen. Reality always works better!

Post tags: Tags: Aston Martin Bond Car Auction, aston martin db5, james bond car