RM Auctions announced the consignment of one of the most significant cultural icons of the 20th century - the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond movie car - to its annual 'Automobiles of London' event at the Battersea Evolution in London on October 27, 2010.
This will be the first time in the car's history that it will be available for sale and expected to achieve in excess of £3.5 million (over $5 million USD). The car is being offered by RM in association with Sotheby's, with whom RM has worked in the past.
Well-known by it's UK registration number, FMP 7B, this Aston Martin is one of only two, and the sole remaining, of the original '007' DB5s as featured on screen with Sean Connery behind the wheel in the James Bond Goldfinger and Thunderball movies. It comes complete with the full factory-fitted operational 'Q-Branch' gadgets, including machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen controlled from factory installed toggles and switches hidden in the center arm-rest.
The DB5 was originally loaned to EON Productions for the filming of the two Bond movies, and returned to the Aston Martin Lagonda factory after its subsequent promotional tour. Mr. Jerry Lee, an American radio broadcaster based in Philadelphia, PA, convinced the factory to sell FMP 7B to him for $12,000 in 1969, thereby becoming its first and only ex-factory owner. It has remained in his possession and has rarely been seen publicly over the past 40+ years.
Mr. Lee plans to use the proceeds from the sale of FMP 7B to further the charitable work of The Jerry Lee Foundation, a multi-national initiative dedicated to solving social problems associated with poverty, with an emphasis on crime prevention.
Photo - RM Auctions