{"id":606928,"date":"2025-12-02T07:36:25","date_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:36:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606928\/"},"modified":"2025-12-02T07:36:25","modified_gmt":"2025-12-02T07:36:25","slug":"car-made-famous-by-bond-was-left-to-rust-on-a-drive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/606928\/","title":{"rendered":"Car made famous by Bond was left to rust on a drive"},"content":{"rendered":"

Matthew RichardsBBC Wales<\/p>\n

\"DominicDominic Fraser\/Aston Martin Works<\/p>\n

The Aston Martin DB5 was described by an expert as “very special”<\/p>\n

A 1960s James Bond-style Aston Martin DB5 – which became so dilapidated local children played on it – has been restored and is now worth \u00a31m.<\/p>\n

John Williams, 71, from Mold, Flintshire, bought the vehicle second hand in 1973 for \u00a3985 – the equivalent of about \u00a315,000 today.<\/p>\n

He last drove the car, made famous in films Goldfinger and Thunderball, in his 20s, before leaving it to rust on his driveway. <\/p>\n

Mr Williams saved \u00a3400,000 for a three-year restoration at Aston Martin’s Buckinghamshire works, where experts had to remove a mouse nest before carrying out 2,500 hours of repairs.<\/p>\n

\"JohnJohn Williams<\/p>\n

The Aston Martin DB5 fell into disrepair while sitting outside but has now undergone a three-year restoration <\/p>\n

He fell in love with Aston Martins when he was given a toy car at eight, and by 19, he had saved enough money to buy one advertised in a motoring magazine.<\/p>\n

But after getting a job in the Middle East at the end of the 1970s, the DB5 went into storage, and then sat on the drive exposed to the elements – and local children.<\/p>\n

“The neighbours’ kids used to bounce on the bonnet and we used to tell them off,” said his wife, Susan. <\/p>\n

“And then one was jumping on the roof thinking, ‘does it work?’ because he’d seen the Bond film and thought it was going to come up.”<\/p>\n

‘Saved and sacrificed’ <\/p>\n

There were only 1,022 DB5s made between 1963 and 1965, which were given a huge boost when James Bond, played by Sean Connery, drove one complete with ejector seat and revolving number plates.<\/p>\n

The DB5 Vantage in silver birch grey owned by Mr Williams is one of only 39 such models in the world.<\/p>\n

Even in its undriveable condition sat rusting outside their home, Aston Martin still valued the car at \u00a3500,000, meaning the couple considered cashing in. <\/p>\n

And they weren’t short of offers. <\/p>\n

\"DominicDominic Fraser\/Aston Martin Works<\/p>\n

Financial pressures meant John and Susan Williams almost sold the car<\/p>\n

Susan added: “Money comes into it and reality, and sitting at the kitchen table he said ‘what do you think?’.<\/p>\n

“And I said, ‘well, you’ll never get another one’. <\/p>\n

“So he said, ‘no, we’re keeping her’.”<\/p>\n

The decision was made, and they described how they “saved and sacrificed” to pay for the three-year restoration. <\/p>\n

\"MarcMarc Bow\/Timbuktu Content<\/p>\n

The car had become home to a number of mice while it remained on the drive<\/p>\n

After removing the mouse nest, technicians spent 2,500 hours replacing parts and restoring features, including the original paint job. <\/p>\n

Mr and Mrs Williams made regular visits to the workshop in Newport Pagnell to follow the progress.<\/p>\n

Now work has been completed, the car maker estimates it to be worth \u00a31m.<\/p>\n

‘It’s such an overwhelming car to be in the presence of’<\/p>\n

Aston Martin’s historian Steve Waddingham said: “It would almost be easier to build a brand new car, but to actually repair and put new sections into a very heavily corroded car like this one took an awful lot of skill and patience.”<\/p>\n

But he said the effort is worth it, adding: “It’s such an overwhelming car to be in the presence of – the smell of, it the feel of it, the noise it makes. <\/p>\n

“They are very special and you cannot get out of your mind those various famous film scenes.”<\/p>\n

\"MarcMarc Bow\/Timbuktu Content<\/p>\n

The restoration took an “awful lot of skill and patience”<\/p>\n

After taking his first drive in the car for more than 45 years, John said: “It must be better now than it was when it came out of the factory originally. <\/p>\n

“It was mind-blowing. I wish they could do a number on me to make me look 27 again. I definitely feel 27 today.”<\/p>\n

Susan had only previously sat in the car when it was being towed after leaving storage.<\/p>\n

She enjoyed her first proper trip with John at the wheel, adding: “The sound of her was wonderful. <\/p>\n

“And then when we were going a bit faster I thought, ‘Yeah, go a bit faster. Let’s see what she can do’.”<\/p>\n

Although John has fulfilled his lifelong ambition, he said he doesn’t expect to drive the car very often, saying: “You’re limited to where you can take it and leave it. <\/p>\n

“And the weather affects it. <\/p>\n

“I don’t want to be taking it through big puddles of water, and I’ve neglected it once. I’m not going to do that again.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Matthew RichardsBBC Wales Dominic Fraser\/Aston Martin Works The Aston Martin DB5 was described by an expert as “very…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":606929,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[13,12,14],"class_list":{"0":"post-606928","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-news","8":"tag-headlines","9":"tag-news","10":"tag-top-stories"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/115648829416142768","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606928","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606928"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606928\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/606929"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606928"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606928"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606928"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}