"No, Mr Bond, I expect you to buy!"

One of four Goldfinger DB5s is being sold; get exercising that paddle arm, and set aside $5m..

While it may not be everyone's favourite, there can be no doubt that the Aston Martin DB5 is the most iconic vehicle used by Ian Fleming's MI6 agent. Even 54 years after Goldfinger's release, the majority of fans still associate Bond primarily with the DB5, helped in no small part by subsequent 007 Aston appearances and its cameo in Skyfall. So this is pretty significant; here's an opportunity to purchase a DB5 with machine guns in the wings, tyre slashers in the wheels and revolving licence plates...

Yep, this is a Goldfinger DB5, chassis number 2008/R and originally owned by Eon Productions. Well, it sort of is. Two cars were used for Goldfinger filming, the movie's success significantly bolstering DB5 sales and Eon keen to cash in on what was already becoming a very famous car and franchise. So this Aston Martin was a promotional vehicle for Thunderball, kitted out with everything Q division (or rather, special effects man John Stears) fitted to the Goldfinger cars - hydraulic rams on the bumpers, the bullet-proof screen, the smokescreen, ejector seat and in-dash radar. This chassis is one of two promotional cars used for the US Thunderball tour, and therefore one of only three ever made in exact Goldfinger spec (because the fourth was stripped out for chase scenes); it may lack the movie star boast, but 2008/R is still a pretty special DB5.

Having been sold off in 1969, that owner then sold the DB5 to America, where it sat in the Smokey Mountain Car Museum for 35 years before being sold by RM Sotheby's in 2006. Now it's auctioning the Aston once more, fully restored thanks to the work of Roos Engineering in Switzerland - an approved Aston Heritage Specialist. Even the modifications were refurbished, and the results speak for themselves.

The DB5 will be sold in a sale called 'An Evening with Aston Martin', taking place on August 15th, an auction dedicated to the marque as part of RM's Monterey season. The estimate, should you have to ask, is $4,000,000 - $6,000,000. Still, there must be a few Bond fans among the world's super wealthy; get two of them in the room in August and who knows what might happen...