“McCartney. Sir Paul McCartney”
Words by Knotty Nawadhinsukh
As we get nearer and nearer to bringing in 2017 to a close, there is still one notable classic car sale left that one should be looking forward to. Bonhams’ New Bond Street office in London are eagerly prepared for their upcoming auction this 2nd of December for historically significant automobiles, some of which were pre-owned by celebrities such as Elton John’s 1959 Bentley S1 Continental Sport Saloon with HJ Mulliner Coach Work or a 1966 Mini Cooper “S” Radford that once belonged to Ringo Starr.
One interesting example that can be picked out among the list of next month’s sale would be this 1964 Aston Martin DB5. What is so particular about this Aston is that its very first owner happened to be Starr’s fellow Beatle, Sir Paul McCartney. It could thus be considered as one of the ultimate memorabilia of the Fab Four to have.
Delivered new for Sir Paul in September of 1964, the DB5 with serial no. 1653/R came right at the time Beatlemania was at its peak, when the band returned from their now famous all-conquering U.S. Tour and first prime-time appearance on American national TV in The Ed Sullivan Show. Upon McCartney’s stipulations, the Aston Martin originally was painted in Sierra Blue and fitted with the latest for its time Motorola radio and a unique portable Philips record player! Now minted from The Beatles’ monumental success, McCartney was sighted everywhere around London with the DB5 as his daily driver, covering over 40,000 miles on the clock before selling it off “64 MAC” after six fruitful years of ownership.
The car has since changed hands several times of course, the last being at an auction in 2012 for a reported sum of over 334,000 British Pounds. That result was achieved after the DB5 went through a major restoration work, including a repaint of the car’s original colour code and pretty much everything else underneath to return the car back to mint condition.
This time around though, #1653/R is being offered in a more iconic and desirable Silver à la 007-style. Still retaining the “64 MAC” registration and all the options, the DB5’s interior has even been re-upholstered in red to maintain the Bond theme. Given its condition in the description, Bonhams estimated that the ex-McCartney DB5 can fetch 1.25 million Pounds or upward.
So if you are an Aston Martin, a Beatles, a Paul McCartney (with or without Wings) or even a James Bond fanatic, this Aston Martin should make an ideal stocking-stuffer this Christmas that you can treat yourself!
For more information, go to: www.bonhams.com
All Photos Provided By Bonhams
