Aston Martin DB5 hits 60 and lines up next to the new DB12

The Aston Martin DB5 – perhaps the most famous car in the world – lines up next to the new DB12 on its 60th anniversary.

The Aston Martin DB5 is the car that made Aston Martin cool, thanks mainly to its outings in a succession of James Bond films over more than half a century, and this month marks 60 years since the DB5 was revealed at the Frankfurt Motor Show in September 1963.

The DB5 arrived to replace the DB4 – which had been on sale since 1958 – and despite its iconic status Aston Martin only built 887 DB5 Coupes, 123 DB5 Convertibles and just 12 bespoke Shooting Brakes before the DB5 was replaced by the DB6.

With looks that can still be seen in the latest DB12 (pictured above with a 1964 DB5), the new DB5 came with an uprated 4.0-litre version of the DB4’s 3.7-litre straight six with, for the time, an impressive 282bhp and a top speed of 150mph. Far short of the DB12’s power, but equally as impressive in its day.

Aston’s Lawrence Stroll said:

The David Brown era gave us so many great Aston Martin sports cars but none more recognisable, revered, and desired as the DB5, which laid the foundations of our identity as a British luxury brand synonymous with style, performance, and exclusivity.

Despite the low production numbers – or perhaps because of them – the DB5 was a proper style statement coveted by the rich and famous, with DB5 buyers including George Harrison, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger and Peter Sellers, with later acquirers including Robert Plant, Jay Kay and Ralph Lauren.