A silver Aston Martin DB5 that belonged to actor Sean Connery was sold at auction last Thursday (16) for $2.4 million.
It’s a 1964 model, the kind of car British secret agent James Bond drove in 1960s movies when he was played by Connery.
Bond was played by several actors and led different models in more than 20 films in the series. There’s a little bit of everything, including BMWs, Bentleys, Chevrolets and Fords. But the 1964 one remains the best-known “Bond car”.
The model Connery first drove in the 1964 film “007 Against Goldfinger” was an Aston Martin DB5 packed with gadgets like machine guns, an ejector seat and an oil dispenser on the runway. In early 2018, more than 50 years after the movie, Connery bought a 1964 DB5 for personal use — but without the guns and car gimmicks of the screens. It was the only DB5 that belonged to the actor. Connery died nearly two years later, aged 90.
Priced at $2.4 million, the sale included fees for auction company Broad Arrow and raised more than anticipated. The buyer’s name was not revealed. The company was counting on a final price of between $1.4 million and $1.8 million at the collector’s auction in Monterey, California. The auction is one of several collector car sales during Monterey Car Week, an annual series of events on California’s Monterey Peninsula.
A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in mostly pristine condition as Connery’s model is typically worth about $1 million, according to classic car insurer and event promoter Hagerty, which recently bought Broad Arrow.
DB5s directly linked to the James Bond movies are worth a lot more than that. A gizmo-filled DB5, which was used to promote the film’s original release, sold for $6.4 million in 2019.
Throughout his life, Connery told his children several times that he had fond memories of driving the Aston Martin in movies, according to his son Jason Connery in an interview. As adults, the children suggested that the actor buy a model, but he resisted the idea.
“He said he didn’t want it because it would seem kind of obvious, that car with him,” said Jason Connery. “I told him to stop it, that was not the point”.
Barney Ruprecht, an Aston Martin specialist at Broad Arrow who advised Connery on the purchase, advised the actor not to buy a car that needed restoration, as the job would likely take a couple of years. So he and Connery looked for a car that was in the most perfect state possible. The car remains that way, according to Ruprecht, with only a few creases in the leather of the seat, proof that someone has sat in it.
After Connery bought the car, he repainted it, changing it from black to Snow Shadow Grey, the gray that is closest to the color of the movie’s car.
But after the renovation, the Scotsman had little time to enjoy the machine.
“Unfortunately, as he got older, traveling, especially to Europe, became more difficult; then came Covid-19…”, lamented Jason Connery. “Unfortunately, he never really got to enjoy the car he bought.”
The model was kept by Connery at his home in Switzerland, according to Jason Connery. He was so passionate about the vehicle that he had a picture of it on his desk.
A substantial portion of the proceeds from the sale will support the Connery Family Philanthropy Fund, according to the Broad Arrow group. In addition to the car itself, the buyer won a ride in the car of famous retired Formula 1 driver Jackie Stewart.
Stewart, like Connery, is Scottish, and the two have been friends for decades.
Source: CNN Brasil
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