A remarkable piece of automotive history has just completed one of the most emotionally charged restorations in recent memory. An Aston Martin DB5, bought for just £900 (USD 2,160) in the early 1970s by a teenage enthusiast, has now been returned to concours condition by Aston Martin Works, more than half a century later.
The car’s owner, Welshman John Williams, was only 18 years old in 1972 when he set his sights on owning his ultimate dream car: an Aston Martin DB5. Through relentless saving and overtime work as a young welder and garage owner, John amassed the £900 required, around £15,000 in today’s money, and in September 1973, aged just 19, travelled from North Wales to London to view the car.
What he found was no ordinary DB5. The 1965 model featured the highly sought-after Vantage engine with Weber carburettors, wire wheels, electrically operated Sundym windows and, as the period advert in Motorsport magazine promised, “many bills.” John bought it on the spot.
For more than four years, the DB5 served as his daily driver before being mothballed on his driveway in 1977 when work took him to the Middle East. Life, however, had other plans, and the years turned into decades.
“I had offers to buy her, and times when I could have done with the money,” John recalls. “But I resisted. As Sue always said, you’ll never get another one.”
During its long slumber, the DB5 suffered the inevitable wear of time and weather, and even a few neighbourhood mishaps. “The kids used to play on it,” Sue Williams laughs. “One even snapped the exhaust clean off!”
Yet John never gave up on the dream of restoring his beloved Aston. “Being a garage man, I was ashamed I’d let her get into that state,” he admits. “I worked hard to buy her, and we’ve worked hard to get her repaired.”
In late 2022, that dream finally became reality when the Williams entrusted their DB5 to Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell, the marque’s historic home and birthplace of more than 13,000 iconic cars.
Over nearly three years, the DB5 underwent a full bare-metal restoration. The Superleggera aluminium body was painstakingly reformed by hand, the chassis rebuilt, and every detail returned to factory-correct perfection by Aston Martin’s Panel, Paint, Trim and Heritage workshops. More than 2,500 man-hours went into the project.
The car itself is extraordinary even by DB5 standards. It is a right-hand-drive 1965 saloon finished in the legendary Silver Birch, the colour made famous by James Bond. Of the 1,022 DB5s built between 1963 and 1965, just 887 were saloons, and only 39 examples worldwide were produced in this exact combination of Silver Birch, Vantage engine, and right-hand drive.
Adding intrigue to its provenance, the car was originally delivered to an owner in the exclusive St George’s Hill estate in Surrey, home during the 1960s to residents including John Lennon and Ringo Starr.
When the Williams first saw the DB5 during its restoration in 2023, the emotion was already evident. “Wow! She looks amazing,” said Sue. “You’ve done such a lot of work.”
John added: “It looks like an Aston Martin now. It’s incredible to see the old ways of building cars being passed on to the younger generation.”
Now, in 2025, the finished DB5 has finally been revealed.
Paul Spires, President of Aston Martin Works, described the project as deeply special: “Although the car was in a profoundly run-down condition when it arrived, we always relish a challenge. After more than 2,500 hours of work, the car now looks absolutely stunning, better than new.”
While careful to avoid speculation, Spires added that if the car were ever offered for sale, its rarity and provenance would likely place its value at approaching £1 million or $1,335,000 at today’s currency conversion.
For John, however, the car’s worth cannot be measured in pounds. “It’s been a long time coming,” he said on seeing the finished car for the first time. “A long time saving, but it’s been worth every penny. It’s probably almost 50 years since I last drove it. The experience is unbelievable. My girl’s back. Back to her former glory.”
