Vehicle Description
*Matching numbers, Factory LHD
*Late production car with very rare factory A/C
*Kevin Kay cosmetic restoration
*Vantage spec engine upgrade
*Continental touring kit included - very rare option
The DB5 was announced in 1963, a logical follow up to the previous
DB4 model, and now offered with a bored-out engine with a 3,995cc
displacement and a higher compression ratio; in standard form power
was a healthy 282 bhp and initial road tests achieved 145mph. The
coachwork was made by Touring of Italy, the "Superleggera" a super
lightweight body consisted of aluminum panels over a latticework of
small tubes. Immense fame for the model came when James Bond drove
a DB5 in the movie Goldfinger.
This gorgeous example has interesting provenance in so far that it
is an extremely late production numbered car (even possibly the
last finished in the factory) and was ordered new by H.R.H. Prince
Abdul Ilah Bin Abdul Aziz of Saudi Arabia, and whose father was
King Abdul Aziz who reigned there from 1932-1953. The factory build
sheets record his delivery address as simply "Behind the Royal
Palace, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia"! Special non-standard equipment
included Normalair air conditioning, a heated rear screen,
detachable head rest to the passenger front seat, Britax front and
rear seat belts, three ear hub caps, Marchal fog lamps and a DB5
Continental parts kit. The original color scheme was Caribbean
Pearl exterior with Dark Blue Connolly leather interior
upholstery.
Extensive restoration and maintenance receipts are on file for the
last 20 or so years and include extensive engine re-building and
other mechanical maintenance in the period of 1994-2000 with that
work performed by Performance Tuning and Restoration, Inc of
Pompano Beach, Florida. This firm was owned and run by Jon Clerk
(now part of Steel Wings in NJ) and Jon has a first-class
reputation and is regarded as one of the finest classic-era Aston
Martin engineers in the USA. Other mechanical and maintenance
invoices are on file post this period, since when the car has
driven just over 2,000 miles. The engine has also benefited from an
upgrade to Vantage specification with the triple Weber carburetors
producing around 325bhp. From March to July 2014 the DB5 was
entrusted to the highly regarded and award winning firm Kevin Kay
Restorations where it underwent a meticulous cosmetic restoration
to bring it to the immaculate concours condition as seen now. This
included full back to bare metal bodywork repairs and repainting,
new chrome, engine bay preparation, all new leather upholstery and
Wilton carpeting piped in Navy. Receipts on file for the KKR
restoration work amounted to $138,000.
As delivered when new, 2270/L comes with air conditioning, a
feature thought to have been only fitted to less than 35 factory
delivered cars. The factory supplied Motorola radio was probably
switched early in its life for a Blaupunkt shortwave model and a
factory sales brochure accompanies this. Other items include the
Continental touring kit, Marchal fog lamps (NOS), three eared
spinners, original heated rear screen, head rests and front and
rear Britax seat belts are all fitted. One deviation from new is
that the outside wing mirrors are no longer fitted, the current
owner preferring the beautiful coachwork without them. Accompanying
the car is an original DB5 Instruction book with supplementary
Britax fitting instruction sheet and window sticker. There is a
rare and virtually complete factory original tool roll, accompanied
by a fully restored jack and a knock-off wheel hammer. Mileage
today indicates 62,633 miles and this might be from new based upon
service receipts available. While it is not known how long the
Royal Prince owned the car, by the late 1970s it was residing in
Texas and all subsequent owners are known. This beautiful DB5
drives as well as it looks and warrants very close attention.
