Rare Aston Martin expected to sell for £900,000 this weekend

DB5 from 1965 could top £1m if the auction goes its way

If you decide to host an auction dedicated to Aston Martin, it’s only right that you have a showstopping lot to lead the proceedings – which is exactly what Bonhams has done.

Its exclusive Aston Martin sale is set to take place this Saturday, 2 June, at Englefield House in Berkshire, England, with some £6.5m worth of rare machinery going under the hammer.

And leading the lot is this suitably storied DB5 – which, if the bidding gets going, could claim more than £1m on Saturday.

Read on for all the details of this magnificent Aston Martin.

Same same but different

Launched in 1963, Aston Martin’s stunning DB5 was very recognisably a successor to the DB4, with a body designed by Touring that bore more than a passing resemblance to the established coupe.

Powerful sequel

Even bigger changes could be found under the bonnet: the DB5 was served by a 4-litre straight-six good for 282bhp (versus the DB4’s 240), often paired with a new ZF five-speed synchromesh gearbox.

Good numbers

Built by Touring to be lightweight and capable – as the DB4 had been – the DB5 could top 140mph and do the 0 to 60 drag in a solid 7.1 seconds. Girling disc brakes on every wheel meant it could stop, too.

Kitted out

There were also improvements elsewhere, with mod-cons such as electric windows and an oil-pressure gauge appearing as standard on the DB5, alongside twin hydraulic brake servos.

Just a handful

In total, 1021 DB5s left the factory between July 1963 and September 1965, just 123 of which were built as convertibles. Of the drop-tops, only 85 were configured as right-hand drive.

Rare breed

This particular DB5 – chassis 2122/R – is one of those 85. It was delivered new in 1965 via a south-west London dealership as a right-hand drive convertible.

All the extras

It was also factory-equipped with a host of options – from chrome wheels and Marchal fog lamps to a Motorola radio, a lowered driver’s seat pan and a BorgWarner gearbox converted by the factory to the desirable ZF five-speed manual setup in 1966.

White or green?

Quite what colour it wore on delivery remains a matter of debate, though: the copy guarantee form states the original colour was Goodwood Green, while the dealer’s delivery notice claims it was finished in Platinum white.

London bred

Either way, this is one remarkable Aston: in a life of more than 50 years, it’s been stabled with just three owners – the first of which was a Mr Weldon of Nottinghamshire, with whom the car was registered in London as KLE 471D.

Gone again

In 1983, the current owner bought the DB5 from Weldon, before selling it on again a year later to a Zürich resident, with just 38,000 miles on the clock.

Second chance

Clearly regret about the sale soon set in because, in 1995, that same former owner bought the DB5 back with just 5500 miles added to the odometer – albeit one that had since been converted to kph.

Long-term refurb

Over the 23-year duration of the current custodian’s stewardship, almost every aspect of the car has been sensitively restored – from the body and paint to the engine and gearbox, though the red leather interior remains original.

Old kid, new block

Around a decade ago, the engine was rebuilt to a 4.2-litre capacity, replacing the corroded original with a new block and fitting new valves so the DB5 could run on unleaded petrol.

Sold as sold

More recently, the transmission has had some attention, but the car remains true to its factory specification in almost every way – but for its 16-inch wheels and a Harvey Bailey handling kit.

Second to last

According to Aston Martin Tickford, this rare DB5 convertible seems to be the penultimate example ever built – adding a cherry to the cake of this unusual and storied machine.

Library of logs

Going to auction with a respectably low 50,000 miles on the clock, 2122/R is also notable for the wealth of documents it’s due to sell with: logs date right back to the original ownership, including the order form and invoice from the first dealership.

Well looked after

Those documents also attest to the years of careful and costly maintenance which have been bestowed upon this magnificent machine – which probably helps to explain its estimate of £850,000 – 900,000.

The £1m question

Could it top £1m? Well, an even-rarer left-hand drive DB5 convertible sold for US$2.7m last year and the model only continues to gain in popularity – but we’ll only know just how popular this one is when the hammer falls at Englefield House on Saturday, 2 June.