1966 Aston Martin DB5

edited by David Barth, 22 February 2009.
Courtesy The Crawford Auto-Aviation Museum in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
Photos were taken in January 2009.

Aston Martin began as a racing car producer by Robert Bamford and Lionel Martin. Their car, which came out in 1913, was built on an Isotta-Fraschini chassis and named after the Aston Clinton Hillclimb race, combined with Lionel Martin's surname. The young company began producing their own cars after World War I, and Aston Martins soon became known for the speed records they set. The firm was taken over in 1924 by new ownership, which began a long tradition of ownership changes in the company. Even with the revolving door of owners, Aston Martin cars continued to win races and set records.

After World War II, the company was slow in restarting production, mainly due to lack of money. In 1947, the company was purchased by industrialist David Brown, who also purchased the Lagonda automobile company. Brown's impact was more than financial. From 1947 onward, his initials, DB, were attached to many of Aston Martin's models. The DB4 was introduced in 1950, with considerably more power and better handling, making the Aston Martin a competitor to Maserati and Ferrari in the sports car field. The bodies of the DB4s were made by Carrozzeria Touring of Italy which used that company's "superleggera" (superlight) design principle. The car's body consisted of aluminum panels that fit onto a latticework array of small metal tubes, making the car very lightweight. These car bodies (and those of the DB5, which also had bodies by Carrozzeria) feature the "superleggera" script on their hoods. The car's design evolved year after year. By 1960 the car's headlights were recessed slightly with sloping covers. The grille was also redesigned, and the size of the car changed slightly to allow more passenger space for rear passengers, although the back seat remained impractical. In 1963, the next generation car was introduced: the DB5. It was not a world-shaking design when it was introduced, but was rather an evolution of the earlier DB4 model, though it was slightly longer and featured a larger engine. The car's use in the James Bond film, "Goldeneye," an Aston Martin DB5, was once again the car of choice for Agent 007.

This car was bought new by Dr. Paul Vignos Jr. from a dealership, Jaguar Cleveland. Built in late 1965, when the DB5 model was finally discontinued in favor of the new DB6 model, it is titled as a 1966 vehicle because it was built after the start of the new American automobile model year. It is also modified with left-hand drive, so the car can be used in America without difficulty. Dr. Vignos owned the car since the day it was purchased, and the car only had 23,920 miles on the odometer when it was brought into the museum. However, the original equipment on the car does not include the various options used by Bond, such as the twin machine guns, oil slick sprayer, bulletproof shield, or ejector seat. Aston Martin produced 898 DB5 coupes during the car's two-year production run.

Model: DB-5
Body Style: 2-door, four-passenger Gran Tourismo Saloon
Original Factory Price: $12,775
Brake Horsepower: 282
Displacement: 243.7 cubic inches
Bore: 3.78 inches
Stroke: 3.62 inches
Engine: Inline 6 cylinder engine with dual-overhead camshafts
Wheelbase: 98 inches
Manufacturer: Aston Marton Lagonda, Ltd.
Location: Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, England

Donor: Dr. Paul J. Vignos, Jr.
Year of donation: 2001