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CLASSIC INTEREST
Lady Brown's DB5
A love affair begins with a classic Aston Martin
By David Grainger
Thursday, December 25, 2003
I am used to a steady progression of automobiles coming through my doors. But after a while even the most earnest enthusiast can become a little blasé about new arrivals.
Every now and then, however, one rolls in that demands my attention in no uncertain terms. It's not always a car I've longed for or thought might be fun to own, but it is invariably a car with some very special attributes.
Such was the case with a wonderful 1965 Aston Martin DB5 that recently came in from Massachusetts for a paint job and new interior.
The DB5 is immediately arresting, as anyone knows who has ever seen an early James Bond movie. Beautiful lines, glass covered headlights, typically English interior rendered in taut leathers with enough gauges, toggles and knobs to satisfy a 767 pilot, all blend to create a car that rises above even the term exotic. Combine that with a snarly, high horsepower engine and a road feel quite good even by today's standards, and you have an car that can cause even die-hard Ferrari fanatics to salivate reflexively as it passes by.
This particular car is an unusual colour combination - deep purple on the outside and graced with a rich red interior.
Sight unseen, this imagined combination may stir the pit of one's stomach but, in fact, works wonderfully and without ostentation.
The purple, it turns out, was Sir David Brown's favourite colour (David Brown being the DB in DB5), and only four cars were ever painted this way - all personal cars of the Brown family. This particular example was Lady Brown's and had a couple of extras not incorporated in standard production cars, like a Wabasco sliding sunroof and a rear window defroster.
Its current owner, Chris Greendale, a respected financier and Aston Martin enthusiast, doesn't let this car rest on its laurels.
He is the third owner of the car, securing stewardship to it nine years ago, and he rallies, races and tours it. Its glove box door is festooned with dash plaques, among which are several from European events and rallies in which the DB5 has participated. It is no stranger to American events either and has added its presence to both American tours and racetracks like Lime Rock in Connecticut.
To enhance the car's competitive abilities, Chris had a factory-installed engine rebuilt and modified, raising the original 282 horsepower to its current 365 output.
Handling was improved by adding a race-tuned suspension and oversized brakes. The car is on its second engine but its original is still with Chris and is used as a coffee table. The second engine was installed by Aston Martin and has the distinction of being factory re-stamped with the car's original engine numbers. This is unusual, but I find it a wonderfully acceptable process if the original manufacturer does it. It sidelines many of the ridiculous and very expensive problems people run into while trying to preserve original, very worn and damaged engines solely because of the numbers stamped on their flanks.
Greendale hasn't been tight with the purse strings either. The car originally cost $60,000 U.S. and he has added an additional $100,000 to restore and enhance it mechanically. Now it is having a new interior installed and will be stripped down to bare metal to be refinished properly.
These are also daunting processes when done properly, but this car is eminently worthwhile and will still be worth almost, if not all, of the money lavished on it.
Aston Martins have seen a great surge in interest and collectibility, and in some cases have doubled or even tripled their value in the last few years. To add spice, there are many Aston Martins that have risen from six digit values to seven digits.
While the DB5 is not in that league, it can certainly be credited with a value in excess of $180,000 U.S. Not bad for this model of car, one of which I can remember being offered for $40,000 just 10 years ago.
When the car first came in I claimed executive privilege and did the initial examination drive over a four-mile course we utilize to assess the mechanical condition of vehicles coming in for work. I'd just done a check on an E-Type coupe - another car I have a love affair with - and was not ready to be smitten once again.
But, clambering into the DB5, I was immediately entertained with its array of gauges and switches and the way they're laid out. I love toggle switches and lots of real gauges. English sports cars usually have a wonderful array of them. This car was no exception. While worn, the interior was a wonderful enforcement that an interior surpassing those of British luxury cars has yet to be built.
I fired up the DB5 and drove off. Halfway through the route a very scary and often expensive thought hit me. Completely unbidden, it crept in, implanting an urge that can only be described as, "You need one of these." Not want, not like, not even lust for, but quite simply need, as a necessity of life.
Just what I need - a flirtation with another automobile with enticing and irresistibly addictive properties.
David Grainger owns and operates one of the largest automotive restoration companies in North America.
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