Aston Martin DB5 Vantages

£4m from Nicholas Mee, Hatfield, Hertfordshire, UK

NEED A DB5 Vantage for any occasion? That is in effect what Aston Martin specialist Nicholas Mee has on offer, with this trio of Vantages currently being offered as a complete set. Thanks to the fact that the Shooting Brake seen here is unique – the only example built by the factory – it’s actually the only complete trio of works-built DB5 Vantages in the world.

Apparently commissioned in order to accommodate David Brown’s gundog and polo equipment, the Shooting Brake order was put in by dealer Cyril Williams of Wolverhampton. The alloy body was built by London coachbuilder Harold Radford & Sons, and attracted so much attention that 11 further cars were built for various customers – although this was the only one to Vantage specification. It was delivered in 1966, finished in California Sage.

Next up is the most desirable of all DB5 models, the Vantage Convertible. Only 123 examples of the droptop DB5 were built and, although many have since been upgraded to Vantage specification, just five left the factory with the 40bhp triple-Weber engine upgrade. This Caribbean Pearl Blue example features a White Gold hide interior and matching hood.

Finally there is the DB5 Vantage Coupé. Although we’d usually prefer a colour less ubiquitous than

‘Goldfinger-spec’ Silver Birch, we could make an exception in this case, as the other two cars satisfy our desire for some other great 1960s Aston colours.

There’s the small matter of the £4million price tag, but the convenience factor of getting all three in one go shouldn’t be overlooked. While the previous owner acquired and restored these cars to an extremely high standard over a period of 12 years, they’re ready and waiting to be enjoyed. nicholasmee.co.uk