THE GOOD OIL

Wait, what’s this!? An Aston Martin DB5 with actual James Bond cinematic pedigree going under the hammer this weekend? Why has this icon of movie cars not made more of a splash? It’s a 007 DB5 after all; short of Steve McQueen’s Bullitt Mustang, you can’t get much more instantly linked than this.

The finer print reveals all. It’s not a DB5 from Sean Connery’s run as the world’s least subtle secret agent; it is in fact — and somewhat improbably — from the time when, ugh, Pierce Brosnan played Ian Fleming’s signature character. So much promise, so little delivery.

This Aston Martin DB5 was actually one of three used in the 1995 film GoldenEye. We’re struggling to remember the scene (or indeed any elements of the entire movie) ourselves, but apparently the DB5 was one of three interchangeable Astons featured during a car chase between Brosnan’s Bond and Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp (oh … maybe we do remember this film).

Onatopp is driving a Ferrari F355 in the sequence, with James in hot pursuit above the hills of Monaco. Two of the DB5s used were for stunts while a third was used only as a close-up car with the Irish 90s pin-up poster boy for the middle-aged set himself in the driver’s seat. The car going to auction was one of the stunt cars.

According to information from auction firm Bonhams, the maker of GoldenEye, Eon Productions, contacted Aston Martin Lagonda for assistance in procuring the cars.

“AML instructed Stratton Motor Company to purchase two DB5s to be used for the driving sequences, while a third was borrowed for static filming in Monaco,” Bonhams says.

“Stratton prepared all three DB5s to identical cosmetic specification to avoid any continuity issues, while the drivingsequence cars were further modified to cope with the highspeed on-road stunts. The drivingsequence cars carried the registration BMT 214A.”

Just because it isn’t the

Goldfinger car, don’t be expecting a bargain for that Bond-themed man cave. When this Aston last changed hands in 2001, it became the most valuable piece of Bond memorabilia to pass over the auction block. It has also had a genuine racer’s backside in the driver’s seat; Sir Stirling Moss drove this DB5 on stage at the Detroit Motor Show when Aston Martin used it (possibly as a distraction) in unveiling the DB7.

The DB5 has appeared in more recent Bond films. Eon Productions can’t seem to shake the catnip this car represents to Bond nostalgists. A classic DB5 made an appearance in three Daniel Craig-era Bond films, as well as another couple from the Brosnan years. Will that dilute its impact as an exclusive rarity at auction this weekend? We seriously doubt it.