1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage auctioned at RM Sotheby's

A beautifully restored Aston Martin DB5 will be auctioned at RM Sotheby's on Saturday, 16 September 2023.

The car on sale is a Vantage model of the DB5. Introduced in 1964, the DB5 Vantage catered for customers who desired greater performance from the standard 4.0-litre engine that offered 282 horsepower and a top speed of 227 km/h.

Retaining the same displacement as the regular DB5’s powertrain, Vantage engines featured revised camshaft profiles and three Weber carburettors, offering greater top-end performance and a claimed output of 325 horsepower. The 0 to 100 km/h time was slashed to a blisteringly fast six seconds.

It is believed that approximately 70 Vantage-engined DB5s were built before the DB6 was introduced. Only 17 of those Vantage DB5s were made in left-hand-drive configuration including the example offered by RM Sotheby's.

The car with chassis number DB5/2228/L was completed by the factory on 8 July 1965 and finished in Silver Birch (the same color as James Bond's Aston Martin DB5) over a Dark Blue interior, a factory-correct colour configuration it wears today.

The Aston Martin features many desirable options including Normalair air conditioning, a Blaupunkt Koln TR radio, chrome wheels with three-ear hub caps - and of course, the high-performance Vantage engine.

The original purchase invoice goes on to list warranty work performed up to the middle of 1966. In the decades that followed, the DB5 was maintained by Emil Frey Classics, as the car was retained in Switzerland prior to coming into Kuwaiti ownership. It is thought that at some point in the 1990s, the factory-fitted Vantage engine was largely overhauled and the car was fitted with a re-stamped block.

In 2017, the DB5 was entrusted to Aston Martin Works, the factory-backed heritage restoration department based in Newport Pagnell, for restoration work.

At some point in its life the DB5 was changed to have a dark blue exeterior and tan interior. Aston Martin Works rebuilt the DB5, stripping the car to a bare chassis prior to an extensive rebuild and respray in its original factory-correct colour.

With costs exceeding £400,000, the restoration will be completed by the provision of a new “continuation” engine, which will be supplied post-sale by Aston Martin Works and delivered boxed.

Lovingly restored by Aston Martin Works’ own craftsmen, and once again appearing in its original shade of Silver Birch, this DB5 presents a wonderful opportunity to acquire a carefully prepared example of one of the greatest cars to ever appear on the silver screen.

The Aston Martin DB5 will be offered at the 2023 auction at St. Moritz, Switzerland, with an estimated price of CHF1,100,000 - CHF1,600,000 ($1,250,000 - $1,800,000 / £850,000 - £1,250,000 / €1,000,000 - €1,450,000)

Read more on RM Sotheby's

All photos Benjamin Hodara ©2022 Courtesy of RM Sotheby's