An American businessman has bought James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 for £2.6 million (€3 million) at a London auction.
The car driven by Sean Connery in his portrayal of the suave but lethal British secret agent in the Goldfinger and Thunderball Bond films sold for less than its £3.5 million pre-sale estimate to businessman Harry Yeaggy yesterday, auctioneers RM Auctions said in a statement after the sale.
"This is a car that I've always wanted, after all it is the most famous car in the world," Mr Yeaggy said in the statement. "My plan is to display it in my private car museum in Ohio just as it is."
Mr Yeaggy is only the second ex-factory owner of the distinctive silver-coloured car. Seller Jerry Lee, an American radio broadcaster based in Philadelphia, purchased the car direct from the Aston Martin Lagonda factory for $12,000 in 1969.
The car is one of two, and the sole remaining, of the original "007" DB5s that appeared on screen with Connery behind the wheel in Goldfinger and Thunderball.
The model was sold complete with its "Q-Branch" gadgets, including machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen. Several of the gadgets are fully operational, although the machine guns are not real.
Mr Lee plans to use the proceeds from the sale for charity.
In addition to the car, Mr Yeaggy receives an exclusive seven-night stay for 10 guests at the newly opened GoldenEye Resort in Jamaica - Bond author Ian Fleming's Caribbean estate - and a gold thread bespoke suit from Savile Row tailors Gieves & Hawkes.