1964 Aston Martin DB5 Coupe

The Aston Martin DB5 played an important role in the James Bond movie, Goldfinger, and instantly captured the hearts and imagination of enthusiasts everywhere.

The DB5 was introduced in 1963 and featured the sporting qualities of the DB-series cars that came before it. The DB5 represented the culmination of nearly a decade of continual improvement based on knowledge and experience gained on both road and track.

Power was from a dual-overhead cam six-cylinder engine that now measured 243.7 cubic inches. Horsepower was rated at 282 HP in standard guise and 325 HP for the Vantage option, which became available by fall of 1964. The early DB5s were offered with several engine options including a standard four-speed unit, a four-speed with overdrive, a ZF five-speed, or an automatic. By mid-1964, the four-speed overdrive was no longer available and the five-speed manual became standard. The fifth gear was an overdrive ratio.

The DB5 was available as a coupe or convertible, with coachwork for both body styles handled by Touring in Italy, using the Superleggera design technique introduced with the prior DB4 model.

This example, chassis number DB5/1469/L, was ordered on February 29th of 1964 by Garage Hubert Patthey. It was built to the strict specifications of Eugene Schneuwly, a resident of Granges-Paccot, Switzerland. It was designed for continental use and given a 3.77:1 rear axle, chrome wheels, Dunlop RS5 tires, instrumentation in kilometers, Bray immersion heater, Motorola radio and a detachable passenger headrest. The car was finished in Sierra blue with gray Connolly leather hides. It is a left-hand-drive example that was fitted with an Ace number plate lettered 'DB5/1964' and delivered to its first owner on June 25th of 1964. It remained in Switzerland for a number of years, later appearing at E. Ritter Garage of Efingerstrasse 79 in Basel

In 1999, it was sold to Dutch art dealer and auto enthusiast Robert Noortman. Mr. Noortman retained the car for five years during which time he refurbished the gearbox, rear axle and braking system.

In February of 2004, it was sold to a California resident and has remained in the US ever since. In June of 2011, it was treated to $60,000 worth of mechanical work.

The car has a tool kit, an instrument book and a copy of the factory build record. It has the correct, matching numbers engine and original data tags.

The 3995cc dual-overhead cam alloy inline six-cylinder engine has triple SU HD 8 carburetors and produces 282 horsepower. There is a 5-speed ZF manual gearbox and 4-wheel servo-assisted Girling disc brakes.

In 2012, this car was offered for sale at the Gooding & Company auction held in Pebble Beach, California. It was estimated to sell for $750,000 - $850,000. As bidding came to a close, the car had been sold for the sum of $748,000, including buyer's premium.

By Daniel Vaughan | Dec 2012