LOT 45

A gear lever knob base with 'ejector seat' button, removed from Aston Martin DB5 chassis number DP/216/1,

Sold for £4,608 inc. premium

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Lot 45

A gear lever knob base with 'ejector seat' button, removed from Aston Martin DB5 chassis number DP/216/1,

Goodwood Revival: Collectors' Motor Cars and Automobilia|19 September 2026, 10:30 BST|Chichester, Goodwood

A gear lever knob base with 'ejector seat' button, removed from Aston Martin DB5 chassis number DP/216/1,

the conical black painted metal base, fitted with sprung red painted button (lacking cover), 38mm high; together with a standard plain wooden gear knob to fit Aston Martin and an ignition key. Sold together with a signed letter of provenance from Anthony V Pugliese III, dated October 18 2011, relating to his ownership of 'The Most Famous Car in the World'.
(4)

Footnotes

After the filming and promotion of the James Bond films Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965), BMT 216A, Aston Martin chassis number DP/216/1, 'the special effects DB5 car', which was owned by Aston Martin and loaned to Eon productions for the films, was returned to Works Service at Newport Pagnell on 6th September 1967. Works were carried out including the replacement of the film used gear lever knob. The car then continued to tour as an exhibition piece.

BMT 216A returned again to Works Service on 25th April 1968, when work number 39237 'REMOVING NON STANDARD EQUIPMENT AND REBUILDING AS STANDARD DB5', was completed. The film prop equipment and the 1967 replacement gear knob were removed, stored and later disposed of by Works Service. See Bonhams 12 May 2007, sale 15340, lot number 68.

The part 'gadget' gear lever knob offered here is believed to have been retro-fitted to the car in 1968 when DP/216/1 (then registered as 6633PP) was owned by Gavin Keyzar, who with the help of a local coachbuilder in Kent and his brother, an electrical engineer, re-created and fitted all the gadgets after he purchased the car from Aston Martin for £1800. This was just after the Aston Martin Works had removed all the original film gadgets in 1968!

The car was later owned by Richard Losee from 1972, where it was exhibited with Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce for the next 14 years. DP/216/1 was then sold at Auction in 1986 to Mr Anthony V Pugliese III, who exhibited it for a further 10 years, then the car was infamously stolen on 18 June 1997 from a storage hangar at Boca Raton airfield. It has not been seen since.

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