DB5 makes £860k as Astons dominate weekend sales

By Marc McLaren

| 22 May 2019

Classic & Sports Car – DB5 makes £850k as Astons dominate weekend sales

Aston Martins were to the fore at the weekend’s classic car auctions, with big results not just at Bonhams’ Aston-only sale but also at Historics’ Mercedes-Benz World shindig.

Twelve Astons of various vintages changed hands at Bonhams’ A Sale of Aston Martins event at the Wormsley Estate in Buckinghamshire on Sunday (19 May), out of 32 that were offered.

But while the overall sales rate may not have been that strong, the top figures certainly were, with a 1964 DB5 making a massive £860,600 and a 1963 DB4 fetching £810,200.

Aston Martin DB4 Series V Convertible

The DB5 Sports Saloon, pictured at the top of the page, was the subject of an intense bidding war between buyers in the USA, Scandinavia and the UK, eventually selling to the lucky UK enthusiast.

The 1963 DB4 Series V Convertible (above), meanwhile, was one of only 70 such models produced and smashed its pre-sale estimate of £680-750,000 in selling for north of £800k.

Tim Schofield, Bonhams Head of Motoring UK, said, “This was a fantastic result for the DB5 – and proves the perennial popularity of the quintessential ‘Bond’ car. The last three DB5s sold by Bonhams at Wormsley, Goodwood and in our Bond Street sale have all realised strong over-estimate results.

“This is a very impressive result for this particular car, which has been restored without regard to expense, and is the highest price paid in the last few years for a right-hand drive DB5 without 'Bond' or celebrity-related provenance; showing that the market has yet again concurred with the specialist views.”

Clockwise from top: Aston V8 ‘Oscar India’, DB6 Sports Saloon and Lagonda 2.6-Litre

Another notable car at the Bonhams auction – which was being held for the 20th time – was the 1979 V8 Series 4 ‘Oscar India’ sports saloon. The ’70s classic was believed to have been supplied new to the Sultan of Oman, and handsomely exceeded its upper estimate in making £132,250.

Elsewhere, a 1966 DB6 Sports Saloon realised £250,125, a 1955 DB2/4 3.0-litre Sports Saloon sold for £120,750 and a fetching 1952 Lagonda 2.6-Litre Drophead Coupé achieved £80,500.

Clockwise from top: Aston Martin DB6 Volante, Mini Cooper ‘S’ and Rover P6 Estoura

Historics’ sale at Mercedes-Benz World the previous day was no single-marque affair, with a total of 172 cars from 46 marques being auctioned. A very healthy result saw 129 of those lots find new homes, for a 75% sales rate.

Curiously, as if in keeping with the theme of the Bonhams auction, two Astons were the top lots there too, with a 1968 Aston Martin DB6 Volante making £619,400 and a 1960 Aston Martin DB4 Series II selling for £397,600.

Among the other interesting sales were a 1964 Austin-Healey 3000 Mk II, which sold well above its upper estimate for £85,120 and a 1973 MGB GT V8 which nearly trebled its pre-sale estimate in making £33,600.

Other favourites of ours to change hands in the sale at Brooklands on Saturday included a rare Rover P6 Estoura which sold for £9800 and a charming Mini Cooper S Mk1, which realised £35,840.

Coys’ Chiswick House sale on Saturday was also a massive success. The auction saw 108 cars from the estate of a 'Gentleman collector' up for grabs, all with no reserve, and remarkably it achieved a 100% success rate.

You can find full results from the Bonhams and Historics auctions, as well as of every other sale going back to August 2018, in our classic car auction results database.

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