2011 Aston Martin Dbs Coupe on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Gold-plated Aston Martin DB5 model sells for $90k

Classic Aston Martins sell for big bucks at auction. So this news of a DB5 selling for a princely sum hardly comes as a surprise. But the model in question wasn't an actual DB5. It was a scale model. Created to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the legendary James Bond film Goldfinger, this 1:3 scale replica of the DB5 that Sean Connery drove in the movie was plated in 24-karat gold and signed by Sir Ken Adam, who designed the modified movie prop. Created by Propshop at Pinewood Studios, the model comes complete with radio-controlled machine guns, bulletproof shield and rotating license plate – just like the one in the movie. After registering interest from some 19,000 viewers from 129 countries, the model sold online for GBP55,000 ($90k) to one Mr. Robert Tyrrell, an English farmer and Bond fan. Proceeds benefit the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Aston Martin DB5 Model Sells for GBP55,000 in Online Charity Auction 17 September 2014 - Tonight, on the 50th anniversary of the World Premiere of Goldfinger, a unique 24k gold-plated third scale replica of James Bond's iconic Aston Martin DB5 was sold in a special online sale to benefit the NSPCC by Christie's and EON Productions for GBP55,000. It was bought by a farmer from Abingdon in Oxfordshire and was among the highlights of the five lots which made a total of GBP136,800 for the charity. The model was created by Propshop at Pinewood Studios and signed by legendary Bond Production Designer Sir Ken Adam. Bidding closed online this evening during an event in London's West End attended by Bond girl Shirley Eaton. Complete with radio controlled machine guns, bullet proof shield and revolving number plate, interest in the sale came from Bond fans around the world with more than 19,000 visitors from 129 countries to the special www.christies.com/goldfinger site. The buyer, Mr. Robert Tyrrell from Steventon, near Abingdon in Oxfordshire, an arable farmer with a collection of classic cars, said after his winning bid tonight: "I saw it at Goodwood this weekend and said 'I'll be having that!'. I am a Bond man, the first movie I saw was Thunderball and I was more than happy to support this worthy cause." A unique Goldfinger Seamaster 'Aqua Terra' wristwatch created by Omega to celebrate the anniversary of the film surpassed the pre-sale estimate ten times when it sold for GBP70,000.

Buy Sir Stirling Moss's '54 Aston Martin DB3S for just $10m

Bonhams estimates this rare 1954 Aston Martin DB3S will fetch as much as $10 million when it hits the auction block late next month. The fifth of 31 examples (and only 11 works racers) built, this particular DB3S was originally built for the private use of the company's owner David Brown. But after three other examples were destroyed at Le Mans in 1954, Brown handed his car over to the racing department, which replaced the fiberglass bodywork with aluminum and put it to work. Drivers like Sir Stirling Moss, Peter Collins, and Roy Salvadori drove it at Spa, the Nurburgring, and the Mille Miglia. As if that provenance weren't enough, the roadster then went on to appear in the '60s comedy School for Scoundrels alongside Ian Carmichael, Terry-Thomas, and Janette Scott – plus an Austin-Healey 100-Six and a 1928 Bentley 4 1/2 -Litre Open Tourer dubbed the "Swiftmobile." Bonhams has chassis number DBS3S/5 consigned for its upcoming sale at the old Aston Martin Works factory in Newport Pagnell. With all that history, the auction house anticipates it will sell for GBP6,000,000-7,000,000 – equivalent to $8.5-10 million at current exchange rates. That would, according to the records at Sports Car Market, make it one of the most valuable Astons ever sold at auction, besting the DB3S that Gooding & Company sold in 2014 for $5.5 million. Related Video: THE 1954 ASTON MARTIN DB3S: CAR OF THE SILVER SCREEN RACED BY THE GREAT STIRLING MOSS, NOW OFFERED AT BONHAMS A rare Aston Martin Works team car – chassis number DB3S/5 – which was campaigned in period by such legendary racing drivers as Sir Stirling Moss, Peter Collins and Roy Salvadori, and latterly went on to co-star with Terry-Thomas in 1960s movie classic 'School for Scoundrels', will be offered at Bonhams Aston Martin Works Sale on 21 May 2016. It is estimated at GBP6,000,000-7,000,000. This historic Aston Martin began life as the personal road car of David Brown, the multi-millionaire industrialist owner of the Aston Martin marque. Under Brown's reign the legendary post-World War 2 'DB' series of Aston Martin cars were built, including the Atom, the DB2, DB3, DB4, DB5, DB6, DB7, DB9 and the DBS, all named using Brown's initials. Aston Martin also built a number of DB3S models for the Works racing team.

Ford GT dominates Le Mans qualifying, gets slapped with performance adjustment

Fifty years after Bruce McLaren and Chris Amon drove the Ford GT40 to victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, Ford is poised for a historic return to the Circuit de la Sarthe. The new Ford GT took the top two qualifying positions in the LMGTE Pro class, and four of the top five. Ferrari's 488 filled in the rest of the spots in the top seven, the first two from AF Corse. In other words, we're primed for a reboot of the classic Ford-Ferrari feud at this year's race. Or not, as the ACO, which organizes the 24 Hours of Le Mans, announced sweeping pre-race Balance of Performance (BOP) adjustments this morning that make this year's GT class anybody's race. In LMP1, last year's overall winner Porsche locked up the top two spots with the 919 Hybrid and will lead the entire field at race start. Toyota's two-car factory effort followed with qualifying times 1.004 and 2.170 seconds behind the pole lap. Audi rounds out the manufacturer-backed LMP1 class in fifth and sixth. Full qualifying results can be found here. The storyline for the GT cars is perfect - some say too perfect. Ford's class-leading times came after BOP adjustment to the Corvette Racing C7.R before qualifying. BOP is intended to level the playing field in the class by adjusting power, ballast, and fuel capacity. (Check out this explainer video for more, or even just if you love French accents.) But the process is riddled with unknowns and ripe for accusations of sandbagging. That is, if the Ford cars were intentionally slow in practice they could hope for BOP adjustment to improve their race chances. On the Corvette side, last year's GTE Pro winner went from the top of the field to the bottom, barely improving from practice to qualifying. If you think Le Mans is as rigged at the NBA Playoffs, well, it's not that simple. Because if Ford and Ferrari held back until qualifying - the eighth-place Porsche 911 RSR is three-and-a-half seconds off the class pole time - it was a pretty dumb strategy. This morning, the ACO tried to put things back in order by limiting the boost in the Ford GT's twin-turbo V6 and adding 11 pounds of ballast. Ferrari was also given extra weight but allowed more fuel capacity. The Corvette and Aston Martin teams were both given breaks on their air restrictors, which will allow their engines to make more power. Both Ford and Porsche also received extra fuel capacity.