Dismantled 1964 Aston Martin DB5 sold at auction for £417,000

Classic cars are worth big money, but when the most collectible are offered to the highest bidder they’re usually complete.

Not this one. It’s a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 – a car synonymous with the James Bond movie franchise. 

This is highly-revered example of the British classic is one of just 679 UK-spec saloon models produced and has been subject to an ‘exhaustive’ restoration that began more than half a decade ago, hence why it’s in bits.

It went to the virtual block in an online auction last week with an estimated value of around £300,000. However, a bidding war between collectors in the final hours of the sale saw it go for a whopping £416,900. As life-size Lego sets go, this is one of the most expensive ever.

The Aston was sold by Collecting Cars – an online-only auction platform that specialises in high-value, rare and hugely sought-after motors.

It auction site told This is Money that a scramble in the final moments of the auction saw its price rise by £100,000 in the final two hours as bidders from three different countries fought over the dismantled machine.

Some 75 bids were placed in total, the sale report confirms. 

The online auction house said it could not reveal the identity of the winning bidder, but assured us that it will be ‘staying in the UK’ to be completed to a ‘very high standard’.

This sixties sports car was set to send collectors into a frenzy, being one of the few remaining ‘home market’ right hand drive models available.

The car left the Newport Pagnell factory on 3 July 1964 finished in Black Pearl paintwork with a White Gold leather interior trim. 

It was fitted with the iconic chrome wire wheels, an oil cooler and electric windows, as well as a few optional extras, including Selectaride adjustable shock absorbers, triple carburettors, and Dunlop RS5 tyres.

The DB5 was originally sold by London motor dealer, Brooklands of Bond Street, with the first owner – Mr Robert Symonds of Wembley – registering the Aston in his name on 1 January 1965 with the number plate ‘GYV 453C’.

Just a few years later, the car was exported to the US, where it has spent the vast majority of its six-decade life.

During that period it was resprayed Caribbean Pearl blue and the interior retrimmed with red leather – though Collecting Cars says there is little documentation covering the car’s stay in America.

Only in the last decade was it discovered in San Diego, California, before the vendor brought it back to the UK in 2016 and officially re-registered it for the UK roads and began the process of dismantling it to recondition every last part of the car.

This includes a replacement engine – a straight-six block found in the DB4 Vantage. This has been rebuilt to an upgraded 4.2-litre specification, and which is accompanied by triple SU carburettors and a five-speed manual gearbox for improved performance and reliability.

Collecting Cars says the DB5 saloon has been completely stripped back to its lightweight steel tube structure, then scanned and inspected for any imperfections. 

‘The frame was subsequently re-wrapped, the nose and steel components of the bodywork replaced, and with the frame and the floor powder-coated,’ a spokesperson for the company explained to us ahead of the auction going live just over a week ago.

‘New body panels have been hand-crafted by original factory team members, to carry as much authenticity through the restoration as possible, also ensuring the correct shape and fit.’

The body is not yet painted and the seats and other interior panels remain untouched after being removed from the cabin.

The auction house said the car represented a ‘compelling opportunity’ for a collector to either return the DB5 to its original specification or to choose their own colour combination when resprayed and reupholstered, Collecting Cars says.

Mechanically, various elements of the suspension and steering have also been restored or renewed, too.

Every component is present, correct and mostly in near-glimmering condition, as can be seen in these images of each major part grouped in the vendor’s storage facility next to the bare-metal body, while smaller items are kept in comprehensively categorised boxes in the background.

All that’s left is for a new owner to put it all back together.

‘It represents a very rare opportunity to acquire a project where the paintwork and interior finishes can be completely tailored to the next owner’s wishes; whether you wish to ‘build your own Bond car’, return the car to its exact factory specification, or to conclude the restoration in a unique colour scheme,’ the spokesperson explained before bidding began.

Collecting Cars sold a similar DB5 in sublime ‘concours’ condition last year for a winning bid of £633,500. Selling at £416,900 this week, this example shows the fortune enthusiasts are willing to spend on a desirable model, even when it’s delivered in individual pieces.

Classic car insurance and valuations specialists, Hagerty UK, says that once fully restored and in ‘excellent’ order, a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 saloon is worth over half a million pounds (£534,000). 

However, if restored to pristine, museum-ready condition, the predicted value of this British motoring icon rises to just over £700,000.

Given that the winning bidder will not have to fork out on finding replacement parts and having them rebuilt, this dismantled Aston could represent a sound investment for a collector with plenty of time – and storage space – to hand.