The sporting DB4 served Aston Martin magnificently across its five series but in 1963, the time came to introduce the revised DB5. Regarded by many as the marque’s finest Italianate-era entry, once again the model made use of Touring of Milan’s lightweight tubular Superleggera construction method that supported alloy body panels. Underneath the beautiful skin, the famed straight-six designed by Tadek Marek grew from 3,670 cc up to 4 litres to produce a healthy 282 brake horsepower. To enjoy the driving experience even more, between 1963 and 1965, the Newport Pagnell factory built 123 DB5 Convertibles. With 39 of those configured for use abroad, a mere 84 were completed in right-hand-drive form suited for British roads.

Such an intoxicating recipe found favour with the great and the good. A broad spectrum of past and present famous owners of the rare DB5 Convertible reportedly included Peter Sellers, Princess Magaret, Prince Michael of Kent, Elle Macpherson, Ralph Lauren, and, perhaps less surprisingly, former Aston Martin boss Sir David Brown.

According to the accompanying copy of the Vehicle Heritage Certificate issued in April 2013 by the Aston Martin Heritage Trust, chassis number DB5C/1509/R offered here was delivered on 10 July 1964 to a dealership in Brooklands. This right-hand-drive car was configured in Platinum to complement a Black soft-top roof and an interior trimmed with Black Connolly leather. Originally, a 4-litre straight-six was paired with a three-speed Borg Warner automatic transmission. The first owner is listed as Clearmount Limited of New Bond Street, London.

From November 1987, the DB5 Convertible was owned by Mr Philip Barton-Wright from Grays in Essex. He kept the car for almost 13 years before it was acquired by the Germany-based consignor. However, before taking delivery of chassis number DB5C/1509/R in late-1999, he tasked The Aston Workshop of Beamish in County Durham with a major overhaul. Most notably, after the bodyshell was acid-treated, the car was changed to its current metallic Silver Birch hue. In addition, the dashboard was restored, a new black mohair roof and wire wheels were fitted, the gearbox and rear axle rebuilt, the carburettors refreshed, and uprated anti-roll bars equipped as part of work totalling £48,000 (invoice available to view on file).

Since completion, the DB5 Convertible has formed part of the seller’s pre- and post-war Aston Martin collection. In 2008, the DB5 did return to the United Kingdom ahead of an extensive rebuild of the replacement engine. Aston Engineering of Derby was tasked with the overhaul, which notably included boring out the straight-six to desirable 4.2-litre capacity. In addition to installing new pistons supplied by Cosworth, the cylinder head was refurbished, the camshaft covers powder coated, and the three SU carburettors rebuilt at a cost of £12,530. A further £8,609 was spent with the marque specialist to cover the costs of a replacement clutch and flywheel, a service of the brakes, and greasing the chassis.

The Aston Martin is notably accompanied by a restamped spare engine block in addition to a jack, tool roll, plus spare wheel. Currently featuring an uprated engine that is paired with a five-speed manual gearbox, this DB5 Convertible could offer a thrilling open-air driving experience to its next owner.