You rarely encounter a restoration story that feels quite as special as this one. Plenty of people admire the Aston Martin DB5 from afar, especially for its James Bond (Sean Connery) 007 connection and but very few spend 50 years holding on to one through early adulthood, career changes, and decades of everyday life passing by.
John Williams did exactly that, and back in the early 1970s, he decided that he wanted a DB5. In 1973 he spotted one in Motorsport magazine; a 1965 DB5 Vantage, Silver Birch, Weber carburetors, chrome wires, Sundym electric windows, a heated rear screen, and a five-speed box. Ironically, it was very close to the example that appeared in Goldfinger (1964).
The ad listed it for £985, but he paid £900, which is about $19,000 today. After a brief test drive, he bought the car and drove the car back home, at age 19. The DB5 served as his daily driver until 1977, when he left for a job in Saudi Arabia. The car stayed on the driveway exposed to the elements. Sue Williams remembered kids bouncing on the bonnet and a child snapping the exhaust. The car’s condition continued to deteriorate, but Williams refused to sell.
As time went on, he would realize how rare his specification was. Out of the 887 DB5 saloons, only 39 left the factory with the combination his car carries: Silver Birch, Vantage engine, and right-hand drive. That level of rarity matters in the collector car market, and you see why he held onto it.
In late 2022 he delivered the car to Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, England the same place that built it almost six decades ago. Sending it back to its birthplace made sense. The DB5’s timeless shape came from renowned Italian coachbuilder, Carrozzeria Touring of Milan. Their Superleggera method created a light steel framework wrapped in hand formed aluminum panels and the result gave the DB5 its balanced proportions and clean surfacing, continuing to inspire Marek Reichman’s latest creations and modern Astons.
The Works team had their work cut out in bringing this car back to life. They rebuilt the chassis, and renewed the Superleggera frame, reshaped every aluminum panel by hand, retrimmed the interior, and preserved original seat frames and the repaired gauge binnacle to retain character. After three years and 2,500 man hours, the team revived what is considered one of the coolest cars of all time. It was their combined experience that made this possible, leaving John teary-eyed when the car was finally revealed to him.
A restored DB5 example with this specification would be in order at up to £1 million, roughly $1.26 million, placing it amongst the most expensive Aston Martins, with screen accurate DB5s fetching considerably more. When it receives a full factory restoration at Newport Pagnell, the market views it the same way it views a Ferrari with Classiche certification or a Lamborghini rebuilt under Polo Storico. These factory-backed programs confirm authenticity, preserve originality, and document every stage of the work. That level of verification strengthens long-term value and reduces risk for collectors.
Images: Aston Martin
