Aston Martin DB5
It's from 1963, before you were born.
- Iconic generation
- 1963 DB5 (Bond's car)
- Origin
- Newport Pagnell, England
- Designer
- Carrozzeria Touring of Milan (Superleggera body)
- Engine
- 4.0L DOHC inline-six, triple SU carburetors
- Power
- 282 hp
- Top speed
- ~145 mph (233 km/h)
- Production
- 1963–1965 — 1,021 built
- Price when new
- £4,248 in 1963 (UK)
About
As of 2026, it's 63 years old.
Plenty of cars are beautiful. Exactly one is 'the most famous car in the world,' and it's the Aston Martin DB5 — thanks largely to a certain secret agent. Before 1964 it was simply a gorgeous, expensive British grand tourer. After 'Goldfinger,' it was 007's chariot, ejector seat and all.
On its own merits the DB5 is a stunner: a hand-built aluminum body shaped by Carrozzeria Touring of Milan, wrapped around a 4.0-liter straight-six making 282 horsepower. Good for 145 mph, it was a proper continent-crossing GT for people with very deep pockets — only 1,021 were ever made.
Then Bond happened. The 'Goldfinger' DB5 came loaded with revolving number plates, machine guns behind the indicators, an oil slick dispenser, and that gloriously theatrical ejector seat. It instantly became the gold standard for movie cars, a role it has reprised across decades of Bond films right up to the present.
The result is a car whose mystique now wildly outstrips its already considerable engineering. The actual screen-used DB5 has sold at auction for over $6 million, and Aston even built a tiny run of brand-new 'Goldfinger continuation' cars — gadgets included — for collectors who wanted to live the fantasy. Shaken, not stirred, obviously.
Aston Martin DB5 through the years
The DB5 arrives
Aston Martin reveals its 4.0-liter, 282 hp grand tourer with a hand-built aluminum body.
Goldfinger changes everything
The gadget-laden DB5 stars alongside Sean Connery and becomes the most famous car in cinema.
Production ends
After just 1,021 cars, the DB5 gives way to the DB6 — but its legend only grows.
Goldfinger continuation
Aston builds a tiny run of brand-new DB5s with working Bond gadgets for collectors.
Six-million-dollar car
A screen-used Goldfinger DB5 sells at auction for over $6.3 million.
