A James Bond super fan has purchased the finishing touch for what is set to be a comprehensive ‘sister’ car to 007’s ill-fated Aston Martin DB5 – a registration plate one letter different from the one displayed on the original movie car used in Goldfinger and Thunderball.
In the Bond films, the iconic DB5 featured the registration BMT 216A. However, a mystery buyer managed to secure BMT 216B during a recent on-line timed auction staged by DVLA Personalised Registrations. He intends to place it on his classic 1965 Aston Martin DB5 currently undergoing a full restoration that will see it rebuilt to the exact specification as 007s famous car.
Speaking from his home in south Wales, the self-confessed James Bond fanatic, said: “It was fate, really. I agreed terms with Aston Martin Works shortly before Christmas to buy and completely restore an original 1965 DB5 to the exact specification of the ultimate Bond car when one of the team joked the only thing be missing from my car to make it complete is the BMT 216A registration. That set me thinking, so I searched the DVLA’s website to see if an alternative BMT-related registration was available and discovered BMT 216B was actually being auctioned in the online sale.”
What makes the purchase of BMT 216B even more significant is that the original BMT 216A-registered Aston Martin DB5 was stolen from a Florida airport hangar in 1997. Despite a huge investigation and world-wide search, it is still missing.
