Chassis No. DB500705R

Engine No. 400/00705

Body No. DB500705R

Some of you are no doubt among the already rare lucky few with Corgi Toys' James Bond Aston Martin DB5 on your desk, perhaps even in its original 1965 box. But for 25 truly privileged collectors, Aston Martin and EON Productions, the production company behind James Bond, created an official, factory-built recreation of the silver-screen DB5, more than half a century after the car first appeared in the 1964 Bond film Goldfinger.

Finished in the iconic and elegant Silver Birch, just as it appeared in the hands of Sean Connery, each car required over 4,000 hours to build at the original factory in Newport Pagnell, and was originally offered at £2.75 million, excluding taxes. Power comes from a 4.0-liter inline-six producing 290 horsepower, sent to the rear axle through a five-speed ZF manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential.

In homage to the gadgetry supplied by Q Branch, working film-inspired gadgets were co-developed with Oscar winner Chris Corbould, special effects supervisor on the Bond films. These include a simulated rear oil-slick delivery system, simulated twin front machine guns, a simulated tire slasher, a simulated radar screen tracker map, a gear-knob actuator button, and a telephone in the driver's door.

Other gadgets, however, are genuinely functional: a rear smoke-screen delivery system, revolving front and rear license plates with triple plates, including the iconic BMT 214A, a bullet-resistant rear shield, front and rear battering rams, a hidden weapons and storage tray under the seat, armrest- and center-console-mounted switchgear, and a remote control to activate the gadgets.

Lavishly equipped as standard though they are, one item, fitted to this example, was offered only as an option: the removable roof panel above the passenger seat, a nod to the famous ejector seat. This example offers a rare opportunity to take the wheel of the world's most famous secret agent in one of Britain's most celebrated automobiles, bringing the fantasy of James Bond to life in spectacular fashion.

Iconic and timeless, the Aston Martin DB5 has appeared in eight James Bond films across the decades, driven by Sean Connery, Pierce Brosnan and, more recently, Daniel Craig, who, in Skyfall (2012), reaches for his analog DB5 when modern technology has been compromised. It is further proof that in a world in flux, where values are sometimes turned upside down, some things remain immutable.