The car thought to have inspired James Bond creator Ian Fleming into choosing Aston Martin as the fictional super-spy’s wheels of choice is going under the hammer on Saturday (12th July).
Bond aficionados will have the chance to bid for the 1954 Aston Martin DB 2/4 MkI Vantage when it is auctioned off by renowned auctioneers COYS, the car chosen by Fleming as Bond’s original Aston Martin in the 1959 novel Goldfinger. The example in question, chassis number LML-819, is thought to have inspired Fleming having been owned by Phillip Ingram Cunliffe-Lister, son of the author’s wartime boss Lord Swinton who was head of MI5 and the Security Executive. Lord Swinton was a close confidant of Winston Churchill, and by coincidence it is at Churchill’s Blenheim House birthplace that the auction will take place.
The car includes reinforced steel bumpers, concealed lockers, heavy-duty anti-interference ignition system, driver’s seat two-way radio connectors, and Halda Speed Pilot, all features which were referenced in the Goldfinger novel. To add to the Bond connection, this particular car was a regular visitor to Fleming’s next door neighbour in Kent, the house he used as the HQ of Sir Hugo Drax in the novel Moonraker.
Chris Routledge, Managing Partner of the auction house, said “This could be one of the most important discoveries of all time, confirming the link between the undoubtedly most famous spy in history and possibly the world’s most iconic sports car marque”.
In all, almost a hundred prestigious vehicles will go under the hammer at the Blenheim Palace auction. In addition to the sale, there will also be a large display of military vehicles in honour of the 350th anniversary of the formation of the Royal Marines.
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