With vintage Aston Martins continuing their reign as increasingly desirable British collector cars, the Bonhams Aston Martin Sale will stage its 20th annual edition of the posh auction on May 19, held for the first time at the renowned Wormsley Estate in the Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire, UK, home of a world-famous cricket ground.
Taking place in conjunction with the Aston Martin Owners Club concours, the sale will feature nearly seven decades of post-war British automotive fare, with each of the decades represented. The offerings range from a 1952 Lagonda 2.6-litre drophead coupe to the latest 2019 Aston Martin Vanquish Zagato shooting brake.
The signature car of the auction is a rare Aston, a 1963 DB4 Series V convertible, one of just 70 produced, according to a Bonhams news release.
“This example bears the ‘Gold Standard’ certificate of the Aston Martin Assured Provenance, a bumper-to-bumper inspection to assess the originality, condition and historical significance of the company’s Heritage cars,” the release says.
The convertible’s pre-auction estimated value is £680,000 to £750,000 ($888,000 to $979,000).
No Aston Martin sale is complete without examples of those driven by the fictional superspy James Bond. The most iconic of them is the 1965 DB5 coupe like those featured in the classic films Goldfinger, Thunderball and Goldeneye, as well as later in Casino Royale and Skyfall.
This DB5 was comprehensively restored “in the classic cinematic finish of silver birch paintwork and black-leather interior,” Bonhams says. The estimated value is £620,000 to £680,000 ($809,000 to $888,000).
Other Aston models at the sale that appeared in 007 movies include a 1968 DBS sport saloon and 1987 V8 Vantage.
The 2019 Vanquish Zagato is one of the most valuable cars at the auction, as well as the newest. One of just 99 built, the Vanquish is a modern supercar powered by a 580-horsepower 6.0-liter V12 engine capable of 0-62 mph acceleration in just 3.5 seconds. Estimated value: £625,000 to £750,000 ($816,000 to $979,000).
Another Zagato-bodied car on the docket is a 1986 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Zagato coupe that Bonhams calls “arguably the pinnacle of the V8 era.” This example has been driven just 4,200 miles from new and is valued at £420,000 to £480,000 ($548,000 to $627,000).
The oldest car, the 1952 drophead coupe from Aston Martin’s Lagonda brand, “was originally designed and engineered by W.O. Bentley, who was responsible for the 2.6-liter, 6-cylinder, twin-overhead-camshaft engine,” the release says. Estimated value: £70,000 to £80,000 ($91,000 to $104,000).
The auction also will feature a number of pieces of Aston Martin signs and memorabilia, as well as agricultural machinery for the gentleman farmer: a 1970 David Brown 990 Selectamatic Tractor. Estimated value: £7,000 to £10,000 ($9,000 to $13,000).
For information about Bonhams’ Aston Martin sale, visit the auction website.
