respects as well. The Dunlop disc brakes were replaced with Girling units, and the suspension was significantly redeveloped with the front now adjustable for camber and the addition of Armstrong "Selectaride" dampers in the rear, along with a dash-mounted control to adjust stiffness to the driver's taste.

Most visually apparent, the trademark sloping front wings with covered headlights, first seen on the DB4GT, became a DB5 hallmark. The dash and gauges were also modified to include an oil temperature gauge, à la the DB4GT. In total, no fewer than 170 updates completed the transformation from the DB4 to the DB5.

While it was produced for just over two years, the DB5 achieved lasting fame as certainly the most famous of all Aston Martins and arguably the most famous car of all time.

According to a copy of its original Aston Martin build sheet and a British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate, chassis DB5/1847-L, the original left-hand drive, U.S.-delivery example offered here, was completed on 23 November 1964 and finished in Dubonnet with black upholstery.

"Non Standard Equipment" included Normalair air conditioning, chrome road wheels, an engine breather, a power-operated radio antenna, and a pair of detachable headrests. Just three days later, DB5/1847-L was bound for the U.S.A. and its original owner, one Leslie Pouch of Staten Island, New York, who eventually took delivery of the DB5 on 23 February 1965.

Its passionate current owner eloquently describes the enduring significance of the DB5:

"Unmistakable! It's James Bond's car in Goldfinger. The DB5 is so much part of Agent 007's panoply that it even made a guest appearance around the year 2000 in a later Bond film. Except for the streamlined headlights smoothing the airflow at the front, a neat idea of the period, its bodywork appears largely the same as the DB4's. The DB5 is the Aston Martin line's most sophisticated achievement. The next model, the DB6, was rather heavier, larger, and more comfortable....

"It also capitalized on the market appeal generated by the James Bond saga. So the car sold very well indeed. But as the DB6 was built in larger numbers than the DB5, lighter and rarer, the latter is worth twice the price of a DB6 today. Their technology is the same but the difference between the two Aston Martins is the same as that between an evening gown and a daywear dress.

This Aston Martin was acquired in the past decade from a Swiss Aston Martin specialist, having previously belonged to a partner at Banque Syz. Kept since then in climate-controlled display alongside original examples of the DB4GT and DB4GT Zagato, it has required little more than routine maintenance.

It is finished in Silver Birch with black leather upholstery and is Swiss registered. It is a very rare example indeed as approximately only a quarter of DB5 Coupés were left-hand drive.