1965 Aston Martin DB5

To Be OFFERED AT AUCTION WITHOUT RESERVE at RM Sothebys Monterey event, 15 - 16 August 2025.
Offered Without Reserve $1,400,000 - $2,000,000 USD

• Built as a show car for the Sal n Internacional del Autom vil de Barcelona with ultra-rare factory hardtop, as noted in factory documents
• One of just 39 DB5 Convertibles factory-specified in left-hand drive
• Fully restored in 2021 by Aston Martin Works Ltd. at Newport Pagnell, UK, the historic home of the marque
• Finished in its striking, factory-correct California Sage over Red Connolly leather
• Retains numbers-matching engine and accompanied by hardtop; benefits from nearly $5,000 in service carried out in 2023

The Aston Martin DB5 is today such a timeless design, and such a benchmark of classic grand touring performance, that it can be difficult to imagine what it must have been like to encounter it for the very first time.

Debuting in 1963, the DB5 would have been a revelation to anyone lucky enough to spy the model on the street let alone those fortunate few who called one their own. Ravishing aluminum bodywork designed by Touring Superleggera of Milan concealed a 283-horsepower, 4.0-liter inline-six mated to a five-speed gearbox, while an elegantly trimmed cabin ensured that occupants would not want for luxury on drives of any length. The DB5 was an immediate object of desire, even before a certain fictional British secret agent drove a Silver Birch coupe onto the silver screen.

This DB5 Convertible was destined for a different sort of celebrity, starring on the show stand at the 1965 Sal n Internacional del Autom vil de Barcelona. Its specification of California Sage over a Red Connolly hide interior, with a contrasting black soft-top, made an already alluring design even more striking. In addition to a rare body-colored steel hardtop, the Aston Martin left the factory fitted with chrome wire wheels, detachable headrests, DB5 exhibition plates presumably for show use Marchal fog lamps, a Motorola radio, a powered antenna, and wing mirrors.

The show stand may well have been the only time onlookers caught a glimpse of a DB5 Convertible. A retail price of 4,490, more than the cost of the average house at the time, ensured that only 123 convertibles were created in total a fraction of total DB5 production. Of those, an even smaller subset of 39 were left-hand-drive export market examples.

Chassis 2111/L is one of those 39 cars. According to the accompanying British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, it was sold via Spanish concessionaire Alton SA, with special mention made that it was to serve as the show car for the Barcelona Sal n. It was delivered on 12 May 1965. A build sheet confirms that the cars first owner was influential architect and impressionist painter Jos Luis Sanz-Magall n, who would go on to design the Atalaya Tower in Barcelona, one of the earliest tall buildings in the Catalan capital.

Chassis 2111/L later spent time in the United States before being imported to Switzerland on 19 August 2009. Shortly after the acquisition by a new caretaker in 2017, a full body-off restoration with Aston Martin Works Ltd. of Newport Pagnell, United Kingdom, was commissioned at a quoted cost of 425,000. The assignment was deceptively simple: The car was to be brought back and/or restored to original specifications including original color and trimming, in essence returning it to its Barcelona show stand appearance.

This process began with the removal of the body, which was then chemically stripped of paint for assessment, with new panels made, as required, from 16-gauge aluminum using an English wheel and factory jigs. The bodywork was then finished in the cars original shade of California Sage. The chassis, meanwhile, was sand-blasted, properly aligned, and finished in factory-correct colors, with a high attention to detail that included applying red oxide paint in each of the foot wells. Inside, the cabin was fully re-trimmed, with rebuilt seats finished in the correct Red Connolly hide, complemented by brand-new carpets and headlining.

The numbers-matching straight-six engine was fully stripped and rebuilt, with light modifications including fitment of hardened valve seats, replacement of rubber hoses with modern silicone, and modification of the cooling jacket waterways made to aid reliability. The Weber carburetors were upgraded to the latest Works specification. Elsewhere, the mechanical elements of the car received a complete overhaul, including the gearbox, rear differential, brakes, steering, and suspension. Myriad auxiliary components were replaced with new versions, including a brand-new set of wire wheels.

Restoration work began in the first quarter of 2018 and was completed by mid-2021. Following acquisition by the consignor, the DB5 was further burnished by nearly $5,000 in additional service work conducted by Prancing Horse of Nashville, Tennessee, in 2023. This included carburetor tuning, fluid change (including differential oil), coolant system service, and steering system adjustments. The car is also accompanied by tools and a jack, as well as the ultra-rare factory hardtop.

As well as being a hugely desirable convertible variant with an enviable period motor show history, this Aston Martin DB5 with its matching-numbers engine and rarely seen hardtop benefits from a full restoration at the hands of marque experts Aston Martin Works Ltd. Beautifully finished in the unusual and deeply attractive shade of California Sage, this elegant open example of Aston Martins iconic DB5 is surely one of the best of the breed, most deserving of its place in a leading collection of mid-century grand tourers.

More than that, it is the opportunity for a new caretaker to experience the charms of one of the most celebrated open-top British sports car designs of all time the very same charms that surely enchanted onlookers in Barcelona some six decades ago. To view this car and others currently consigned to this auction, please visit the RM website at rmsothebys.com/auctions/mo25/.