James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 Might Have Been Discovered

The Aston Martin DB5 used during the filming of the 1964 film Goldfinger may have been found. The car was stolen from a collector in 1997 and has been missing ever since. The car in question is one of two that was used during the filming of the Bond movie. The stolen Aston Martin was the “effects” car, the one outfitted with all the gadgets and other fun technology. The “road car,” the one used for all the driving scenes, is still accounted for and in a museum.

The Aston Martin DB5 Effects Car

The effects car was originally purchased directly from Aston Martin by collector Richard D. Losee in the 1960’s. It was purchased for $12,000, a number that sounds quaint now. After Losee, it changed hands several times before ending up in the collection of Anthony Pugliese III in the late 1980’s. Then, about a decade later, the car was stolen from the hangar Pugliese stored it in in the Florida Keys.

The theft was noteworthy as none of the guards noticed anything suspicious, few signs of breaking and entering were found. What’s more, the only nearby vehicle to the scene turned out to belong to a local who was innocent. The high-profile, unsolved crime was almost poetically fitting for a major Bond prop, but tragic for art collectors.

Potential Resurfacing

The organization Art Recover International has recently received a tip that the effects car may be in the Middle East. Christopher A. Marinello, the organizations chief executive, stated the following. “I have been given a specific tip, but we are working on it. We want to reach out to the collector car community and a vast array of mechanics to let them know we are very serious about recovering it.”

Pugliese has also helped the potential investigation by telling the recovery team what to look for. Specifically, the real effects car will have a very particular serial number on the chassis. That number, DP/216/1, is unique to that specific vehicle and would set it apart from a fake. If this tip is true, a piece of film history could be returning from obscurity.