► Aston Martin DB5 turns 60
► Star of silver screen remembered
► Poses with latest Aston DB12
Is there a more famous car on the planet? The tifosi may proffer a scarlet Ferrari, Brits may suggest the Mini and the French will surely put forward a 2CV or similar. But for many, the Aston Martin DB5 is the most famous car of all, spilling from popular culture into mainstream consciousness.
We’ll even allow the use of the overused epithet ‘iconic’ to describe James Bond’s most memorable transport. Find out why in Jake Groves’ Aston Martin DB5 review.
The two-door coupe was first shown at the 1963 Frankfurt motor show, a point not lost on us as we return from this autumn’s Munich motor show, the German salon’s successor. It must’ve been one helluva show six decades ago; the Porsche 911 was also unleashed to the world at the IAA that same year.
Aston Martin DB5 meets DB12
Aston has chosen to mark the diamond birthday with a photoshoot, alongside the rather gorgeous-looking latest DB12. It’s fascinating to dissect the bloodline, soak up the shape-shifting haunches and grilles morphing from hand-beaten aluminium to more machined profiles of the present day.
The DB5 was in production at Newport Pagnell for just two years, in which 887 DB5 saloons, 123 convertibles and 12 bespoke coachbuilt shooting brakes were made. For all its exposure, it remains a rare sight.
Gaydon name-checks The Beatles’ Sir Paul McCartney and George Harrison and Rolling Stone Mick Jagger as owners of the DB5 in period, underlining its pop appeal. But for many, its star turn was as the gadget-strewn hero of the 007 franchise.
Aston chairman reflects on the import of the DB5
‘The David Brown era gave us so many great Aston Martin sports cars but none more recognisable, revered, and desired as the DB5, which laid the foundations of our identity as a British luxury brand synonymous with style, performance, and exclusivity,’ said the executive chairman Lawrence Stroll.
‘It is only right that, as it turns 60, we take a moment to look back and reflect on this car’s incredible role in our storied 110-year heritage. We’re incredibly proud that the DB lineage continues today with the critically acclaimed DB12, which like those came before it, is a celebration of all we love about British handbuilt sports cars, with a new injection of the latest technology and highest levels of performance.’
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