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ASTON MARTIN DB5 ASTON MARTIN DB5 – LICENSED TO THRILL by Mark Wright Most James Bond film aficionados still see Sean Connery as the quintessential 007 - the slickest in a long line of smooth gentleman spies who always got the exotic car, the megalomaniacal villain and the beautiful woman, usually in that order. It was just another day at the office, but boy, that DB5 made quite an office. If you watch Goldfinger; when the gadget-man Q explains to Bond about the his new DB5’s many optional extras, such as the .30 calibre Browning machineguns, bullet-proof screen and, of course, an ejector seat, you can detect a knowing grin on 007’s face. Was he smiling at Q’s ingenuity? Was he smiling at the potential for destruction? Or was it the car? For my money it was the car. Tyre slashers, Jeff spent a lot of time talking to Aston Martin owners about oil slick ejectors and revolving number plates are all very fine, restoration, and started to get an idea of how far he wanted to but just look at the package. All the pulling power of a 4.0- take it. “Well that means nothing when you start a restoration,” litre, twin-overhead cam straight-six and all the pulling power explains Jeff. “In the end you have to say, ‘there’s all this of that gorgeous body by Touring. What madman hell-bent great work that is done already. Do I compromise that by not on world domination stood a chance? doing the rest to that level?’ It’s a bit of a vicious circle.” Queenstown car enthusiast Jeff Williams is an Aston Martin That vicious circle kept spinning for the next four years as fan from way back. A film producer who specialises in car Jeff drip-fed money into the restoration, but no-one can deny commercials, he has an eye for fine forms. His previous the end result was worth the wait. One thing Jeff didn’t want credits include a potent DB6 Vantage and a DB2/4 MkIII. was a ‘trailer queen’, but he did decide to send the car fresh Both are gone now, the latter sold to help develop his family’s from the workshop to the 2003 Ellerslie Concours, see how it delightful Queenstown property, which has grown around an went, and then drive it away. old stone barn. Little wonder they named it Aston Villa. The rest, as they say, is history. Master’s Class prize won, Jeff Jeff purchased the DB5 back in 1987, one of a number of dropped a few jaws by hopping into the car with his youngest Aston Martins and Ferraris brought into the country in the son and heading south from Auckland to Queenstown. 1970s. It was a good, sound, useable classic, but about five years ago Jeff decided it was restoration time. Jeff’s choice of a two-tone black over silver paint scheme Aston Martin’s legendary DB5 is now inextricably linked with picks out the car’s graceful, curving lines beautifully. Such the glamorous, fast-paced world of James Bond. Someone a finish can be a two-edged sword, showing up even minor should have told Sean Connery not to work with children, imperfections, but the bodywork on his Aston is simply animals or Aston Martins because, let’s face it, the car was outstanding. the star. “The body is where all the money went,” says Jeff. “That’s Mark Wright checks out an Ellerslie Concours Master’s Class- always the way with Aston Martins.” winning example of this sterling piece of Britannia’s best. The black roof helps reduce the visual impact of the Webasto Apparently the film’s producers had to pay for the Aston sunroof. Aston Martin never offered a sunroof, but Jeff was Martin, but after the success of the movie, and the so-called keen to keep the period accessory. “I love it, especially in Silverbirch DB5, it was the last one they ever had to pay for. this climate.” Jeff’s choice of a two-tone black over silver paint scheme When he saw a picture of the same colour scheme on a picks out the car’s graceful, curving lines beautifully. DB5 owned by Elle MacPherson and her husband, he was “Being an alloy body it didn’t look too bad, but a lot of rust sold. Not only does it make the sunroof less obvious, it also was hidden away in bulkheads and box sections where it accentuates the Aston’s beautifully tapered roof-line. couldn’t be seen.” When the time came to do the deed, Jeff I could rave about the work of Italian design house Touring. was only interested in using one restorer - Auto Restorations For example, the way the line of the guards arc back from the in Christchurch. The company had impeccable credentials, beautifully faired front headlights to the chic fins at the rear. and an international reputation based on producing many Pebble Beach Concours winners. It also had plenty of Aston More dramatic cues are added by the grille, a real family experience, having also won at the premier European concours feature, as well as the bonnet scoop and the outlets just event - the Louis Vuitton - with a team Aston DB3S. behind the front wheels. ASTON MARTIN DB5 Quality oozes from the interior, with lots of tactile switches and features such as an ashtray which looks a bit like an embossed cigarette case, and flicks open with the lightest touch. Aston Martin can trace its roots back to 1913, when Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin built a car based on an Isotta- Fraschini chassis using a 1400cc Coventry Simplex engine. But it was between the wars that the company led the charge in the development of the small, nimble and lively British sports car which provided such a contrast to the likes of Bentley. Even at this early stage, however, Aston Martin was fast establishing a reputation for exclusive, well-engineered cars that commanded a premium. The company stuttered into life after WWII with a 2.0-litre model, but increasing financial difficulties saw David Brown buy the company in 1947. A new 2.0-litre sports, now known as the DB1, was introduced in 1948, but soon after Brown Long bonnets make for elegant lines, but the DB5 needs its also purchased Lagonda to form Aston Martin Lagonda. to house the big 4.0-litre six. The Tadek Marek-designed It wasn’t long before the new company put the W.O. Bentley- twin-overhead cam engine punches out a healthy 213kW designed six-cylinder Lagonda motor with Aston Martin’s (286bhp), enough to propel the 1452kg (3200lb) DB5 to excellent chassis, and the DB2 was born. Various versions of 97kph (60mph) in the high sevens (depending on which the DB2 followed, along with a DB3S sports/ race car as the road test you read) and on to a top speed around 238kph Aston Martin brand thrived. (148mph). A bold leap forward came in 1958 in the form of the beautiful, Two large cam covers and gleaming triple SU HD8 carburettors Italian-styled DB4, which created a major stir when unveiled grab your attention as soon as you open the bonnet. Not at the London Motor Show. It represented a major change in surprisingly the car received full marks for its under-bonnet direction for the company. Gone were the old space frame appearance. chassis and Lagonda engine, to be replaced by a platform Vantage is a word strongly associated with Aston Martin. chassis powered by a 3.7-litre twin-cam six, all clothed in a Basically it meant that if you weren’t satisfied with having fabulous design from Touring of Milan. your shoes blown off by the performance of your basic DB, The DB5 burst on the scene in 1964, and how Aston Martin you could go for the Vantage version and lose your socks must have rubbed its hands together with all the publicity it as well. received from its association with 007. It became the Aston For example the Vantage version of the DB5 came with triple Martin model everyone knew. Webers and turned out 234kW (314bhp) compared to 213kW The longer, Kamm-tailed DB6 followed in 1966, followed by for the standard triple SU unit. the full four-seater DBS in 1967. Jeff has an eye for detail, and over four years of restoration A potent V8 version was introduced in 1972, and the plug experience he knows what is right and what is not. Details was pulled on six-cylinder Aston Martins in 1973. such as having the correct spark plug lead colours all add up in a concours competition winner. Jeff’s offer of a drive was too good to turn down. A twist of the dashboard-mounted ignition key sets the engine alight. Slipping behind the wheel of the DB5 is an almost mesmerising The DB5 announces its awakening with that sweet bark so experience. I think it’s a combination of the heady aroma of characteristic of big British sports cars so characteristic of Connolly leather, and the dash full of Smiths dials and gauges big British sports cars. Once on the move even a little bit of which keep you in touch with the heart-beat of the big six. The throttle is met by a lot of response as the engine shouts its dash shape echoes the front grille, something that started approval at being let off the leash even for a brief second or with the DB 2/ 4 MkIII.