Rightly considered a supercar in its day, Aston Martin’s DB5 is arguably the first vehicle to attain superstar status as well, thanks to playing the sidekick of covert operative James Bond in the 1964 film Goldfinger. It’s a model that, in automotive terms, refines the stylistic conventions of the 1950s while perfectly complementing Britain’s edgier Mod ethos of the subsequent decade.

Unlike the actors from that era, however, the DB5 has defied age and maintained its relevance throughout the more than six decades since its premiere. Its seemingly timeless allure will once again be demonstrated when this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage, an example of the most muscular variant of the nameplate from the final year of production, will be ready for its close-up at Broad Arrow’s Las Vegas Auction on October 31. 

Although founded in 1913, the 112-year-old marque really came into its own when acquired by Sir David Brown in 1947. The model line bearing his initials began the next year with the DB1, and remains a tour de force today with the DB12, named Robb Report’s 2024 Car of the Year. Yet the DB5, in production from 1963 through 1965, remains the standard bearer.

With a price of £4,175 (roughly $5,560 at today’s conversion rate) when introduced to the market at the 1963 Frankfurt Motor Show, the DB5 distanced itself from the DB4 with a twin-cam, straight-six engine that had its displacement bolstered from 3.7 liters to 4.0 liters, and output bumped to 282 hp. Mated to the power plant was the choice of either a ZF five-speed manual gearbox (as found with the car on offer) or a Borg-Warner three-speed automatic. As Broad Arrow’s lot description notes, the DB5’s body was designed by Federico Formenti, who was in the employ of Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera.

Weighing in at a little over 3,236 pounds, the initial DB5 has performance specs that include the ability to cover zero to 60 mph in 7.1 seconds and top out at 142 mph. Those figures were bested in 1964 with the reveal of the DB5 Vantage, a variant with engine modifications that primarily consisted of three Weber carburetors. The result was a boost to 321 hp for the mill, allowing for faster acceleration and greater overall speed (zero to 60 mph in less than six seconds and 150 mph, respectively, according to the auction house).

The example soon to cross the block is touted by Broad Arrow as “one of just 21 factory left-hand-drive examples out of a total of 60 DB5 Vantage Coupes produced.” Chassis No. DB5/2136/L was first delivered in the UK to Joseph C. Cline, who, likely soon after, had it sent stateside. Records show that it left the factory wearing an exterior color scheme of Sierra Blue, which was complemented by a Dark Blue cabin.

This DB5 has had at least a handful of owners since, including one that, in 2019, had the body painted in the model’s hallmark Silver Birch. Broad Arrow notes that the most recent steward also had restorative attention given to the vehicle, in this case by Fast Cars Ltd. in Redondo Beach, Calif.

“Arguably still the most famous Bond car to date, the DB5 needs little introduction as one of the most iconic grand tourers ever made,” Jakob Greisen, Broad Arrow’s senior car specialist, tells Robb Report. “The very example we are selling at our Las Vegas Auction stands out further as the rarest and most desirable specification of the DB5 model . . . It is a highly collectible, matching-numbers example, which would be equally at home on motoring tours or concours lawns.”

A blue-chip collectible among classic cars, the DB5 has considerable range in value, owed in part to its popularity with the celebrity set. For example, while a 1965 model-year DB5 sold for $500,000 through RM Sotheby’s this past August, a 1964 variant owned by Sir Paul McCartney hammered for more than £1.34 million (more than $1.79 million by today’s conversion rate) through Bonhams in 2017. The DB5 Vantage being presented by Broad Arrow is estimated to fetch between $850,000 and $1 million.

Click here for more photos of this 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage.