Rare DB5 Convertible Sells at Goodwood for £551,500

The recent 2010 Goodwood Festival of Speed ended extremely successful for Bonhams, as the auction house managed to raise £3,707,687 in total. Highlight of the sale was an extremely rare 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Vantage Convertible that fetched £551,500, a world record price for the model.

There have been only 23 DB5 convertibles ever made and just 9 of them were built with the Vantage engine. The example sold at Goodwood has had just three owners so far.

"There was extraordinary strength of bidding in all areas of the market and we were exceptionally pleased to establish yet another world record Aston Martin price with the sale of the DB5 convertible," Group Head of Bonhams Motoring Department, James Knight, said in a release.

The Bonhams sale at Goodwood also included a 1937 Bentley 41/4-Litre Drophead Coupe, which featured in the 007 James Bond film 'Never Say Never Again' that sold for £221,500, and the ex-Yoshiyuki Hayashi 1958 model/1980s assembled Lister-Jaguar (also known as 'Knobbly') that fetched £232,500.

Ex-Minogue sisters' 1999 Mercedes-Benz SLK230 was also sold at the event. The two beautiful Australian pop stars have been the car's only two owners and has covered just 19,000 miles. The car, bought new by Dannii Minogue, and subsequently passed onto her sister, Kylie, sold for £14,950, with part of the proceeds being donated to a breast cancer charity.

A 1976 Jensen Interceptor Series III Coupe also proved hugely popular selling for £54,300 against an estimate of £7,000 - 10,000.