One of 551 examples of the DB Mark III produced between 1957 and 1959

Delivered new to the United States, remaining in the country into the 2000s An ideal candidate for a complete restoration; accompanied by numerous parts For the first three James Bond novels, Ian Fleming put MI6’s finest at the wheel of a Bentley 4½-litre ‘Blower’.

Of course, the on-screen character would become most associated with a Silver Birch Aston Martin DB5.

Those two worlds would collide somewhat in the seventh book, Goldfinger .

For the 1959 instalment, the author handed the secret agent a company car in the form of the DB Mark III.

Fittingly, it was the last model from the marque to feature the straight-six engine designed by none other than W.O.

Bentley.

A new wing-shaped grille, which became a hallmark of Aston Martin design thereafter, denoted the successor to the DB2/4.

By now enlarged to 3 litres, the motor had also been reworked courtesy of recent hire, Tadek Marek.

In standard form, the outp...