Aston Martin DBS from 'The Persuaders!' sets record at auction

Car driven by Roger Moore in the hit TV series sells for almost $900,000

 Bonhams 
This DBS from "The Persuaders! was driven by Roger Moore in the TV series. 

The star car from the U.K.'s "The Persuaders!" TV series, a 1970 Aston Martin driven in the cult show by Roger Moore, has just set a record price at auction for the model. The DBS sold for £533,500, equivalent to almost $900,000, at Bonhams' 15th annual Aston Martin Works sale in Newport Pagnell in England. The price set a record for the model, top examples of which have hovered near the $100,000 mark for years.

Even though the car portrayed in "The Persuaders!" was a V8 model, the actual car that Aston Martin gave the producers was a straight-six version with all the appearance details of the V8. This didn't seem to temper bidding, but, then again, this is a car driven by Roger Moore in a TV show. After the show ran for 24 episodes, this Aston Martin (there was only one car used for filming) was returned to Aston Martin Works for servicing with only 5,000 miles on the clock.

The car was sold to a private owner in 1971, retaining its V8 visual cues on the exterior. The Aston received a thorough restoration, once again by Aston Martin Works in the late 1990s, by which time it had approximately 70,000 miles on the clock, with the interior being left as-is to preserve its history.

This car was described as excellent mechanical condition; it has been serviced by Aston Martin every year since its restoration, and it stayed in regular use all these years. Famous TV and movie cars tend to "go bad" sitting in museums, while this DBS got plenty of proper exercise.

So it's not only Bond cars that can pull Bond car prices, though, arguably, this was as close to a James Bond Aston Martin as you can get.

If you're in the market for a DBS...then five years ago was the time to buy. In 2010, the best examples went for just north of $70,000, but collectors have started to show genuine interest in these. Truth be told, the DBS has been undervalued as a classic car for years, and it was only a matter of time before the market noticed these quite handsome Aston Martins. The best examples now trade around $150,000, though driver-quality cars with straight-sixes can still be had around $50,000.