1964 Aston Martin DB5 Saloon

Delivered new in December 1964
Original five-speed ZF manual gearbox and matching numbers engine
Documented competition history including championship wins
Ground-up, body-off restoration by Richards of England, completed 2024
Only 500 miles covered since restoration; presented in perfect condition

The Aston Martin DB5 needs little introduction. It is, by almost universal agreement, the most recognisable and desirable British grand tourer ever built — the car that defined an era and embodied an aesthetic. DB5/1618/R is an example with a history that sets it apart even within that exalted company: a matching-numbers car with documented competition provenance, a full ground-up restoration of the highest order, and barely 500 miles on the clock since completion.

The car was delivered new in December 1964, specified from the outset with the five-speed ZF manual gearbox — the transmission that the most committed DB5 drivers and collectors have always preferred, and one that transforms the experience of driving this car on any road of consequence. The original delivery colour was Aegean Blue, and the warranty card, first owner details, and factory build records are all present in the history file, providing an unbroken thread of documentation from new.

In the late 1980s, the car was modified for competition by Goldsmith & Young Ltd and embarked on a racing career that produced a remarkable record in a short period of time. In 1989 it competed at the GP Historique de Bourgogne at Dijon, finishing sixth, and was named Intermarque winner of the John Piper Memorial Trophy. In 1990 the car’s competition record reached its peak: outright victory at Oulton Park, second place at Silverstone, a Ladies’ Record at Wiscombe Park hillclimb, the Chapman Warren Championship title, and further intermarque success — an impressive tally by any measure, and one that speaks to both the preparation of the car and the calibre of those who raced it. The car continued to appear in competition into the 2000s, taking third in the Intermarque Championship race at Oulton Park in 2002, and was featured in the Dutch classic car magazine British Car in April 2001. This is a DB5 that has genuinely been used as Aston Martin intended — with commitment and without apology.

The car subsequently passed into private hands as a restoration project and was entrusted to Richards of England for a complete, body-off, ground-up restoration — a three-year undertaking finished in 2024 and carried out to an uncompromising standard. The car emerges from that process finished in Silver Birch over grey hide, a combination of quiet authority and timeless elegance that suits the DB5’s lines to perfection. Since completion it has been maintained by Trinity Engineering and has covered only 500 miles — enough to confirm that everything functions as it should, not enough to diminish the condition in any meaningful way. It presents today in absolutely pristine condition, with a paint finish and interior that reflect the full quality of the restoration beneath them.

The history file is comprehensive, containing the original warranty card, factory build details, competition records, and full restoration documentation.

Only 1,059 DB5 saloons were built between 1963 and 1965, of which a meaningful proportion have been lost, significantly modified, or stripped of their original drivetrains over the intervening six decades. A matching-numbers example with a documented history, a correct five-speed gearbox, and a restoration of this quality is therefore genuinely exceptional — and increasingly unlikely to be repeated.