This Disassembled Aston Martin DB5 Could Sell for up to $385,000 – Robb Report

Why stop at buying your dream car when you can also build it?

That’s the opportunity that one collector is about to get thanks to Bonhams. Next week, the auction house plans to sell a disassembled example of the legendary Aston Martin DB5 at its annual Goodwood Festival of Speed event.

The DB5 needs little introduction. The successor to the DB4 isn’t just the definitive Aston Martin, it’s also one of the most famous cars ever built. This is due in no small part to its role in the James Bond film series. The gorgeous grand tourer has appeared in eight of the spy movies, because of which it is the car most associated with the debonair Agent 007. Add that to the fact that a little over 1,000 examples were built during the three years the model was in production and its little wonder that the car regularly sells for seven-figure sums on the rare occasion one hits the open market.

Of course, if you’re the kind of collector uninterested getting your hands greasy, this auction might not for you. Bonhams isn’t kidding when it says that this DB5—which dates to the car’s second year of production, 1964—is “dismantled for restoration.” It is literally in pieces that have been stored in containers for the better part of the last five decades. Luckily they’re labeled for whomever eventually reassembles the vehicle.

You may be wondering how this DB5 came to be in such a state. The car, which was originally retained by the Aston Martin sales department, first passed through the hands of two Scottish enthusiasts before being sold to a collector residing in Germany during 1970s. They wanted to have the car fully restored, but unfortunately the shop they entrusted with the project went out of business with the job half done. The car, which was purchased from the collector’s widow by its current owner, has remained in pieces ever since.

The DB5 may need reassembly, but the boxes that comprise the lot include just about everything needed to get the restoration going, including the original body. Unfortunately, the engine is not the one the car left the factory with. Bonhams notes that prospective buyers should satisfy themselves about the car’s completeness before for bidding. We imagine that after decades in storage, several pieces, if not the majority, will need to be replaced.

If none of that is enough to scare you off, the disassembled DB5 is set to go up for auction on July 14. Bonham’s expects the car to sell for between $282,000 and $385,000 when it goes up for bidding. That’s certainly a lot for a project car, but it’s also a lot less than you’d pay for an example at auction—or directly from Aston Martin.

Click here for more photos of the disassembled 1964 Aston Martin DB5.