Everyone likes the idea of their assets accruing additional value, but, unlike with stocks and shares, a car's usability changes with what it's worth. Today, the idea of leaving an Aston Martin DB5 in a busy city centre in a narrow parking spot, or driving it on wet, muddy, broken roads, would make many cringe with fear. The beauty of Rodney McMahon's Roman Purple 1965 DB5, however, is that it has been rebuilt not to win concours rosettes but to be driven.
"I have a bit of a thing for Aston Martins," says Rodney, in a textbook demonstration of British understatement. The DB5 is the most recent addition to a collection that includes a DB4, DB6, DB7, V8 Volante and Rapide. Of his more classic Astons, the DB4 and DB6 are immaculate, show-condition cars, so when he asked Aston specialist RS Williams to look out for a DB5 on his behalf, he requested one that wasn't quite so perfect. "The restored ones are beautiful, but the problem is that you can only damage them from that point on," says Rodney. "I wanted a car that someone could open a door into in a car park, or I could pick up a stonechip, and it'd just become part of the patina."
Well, how is four decades sitting in a barn for patina? The car RS Williams found was a remarkably original, and unusually coloured, DB5 that hadn't been on the road in 41 years. "Two brothers owned it," continues Rodney. "They stored it pretty well, actually; they hadn't left it to rot, and with some recommissioning I drove it as it was for a year." He doesn't know why the car sat unused for so long, but the Aston was a relatively high-mileage car among a collection of classics, so had likely suffered a minor breakdown that never got fixed.
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Denne historien er fra May 2023-utgaven av Classic & Sports Car.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
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RAY HILLIER
Double-chevron oddity proves a break from the norm for this Crewe specialist
SHORT BACK & GLIDES
Eccentric enthusiast Captain RG McLeod's series of Manx-tailed Bentley Specials reached its zenith with this unique S2 Continental.
People's choice
The diminutive but multi-million-selling Fiat 850 packed a remarkable diversity of form and function into its compact footprint
PLASTIC BREAKS FROM THE NORM
Glassfibre revolutionised niche car-body production, but just occasionally strayed into the mainstream.
A SENSIBLE SUPERCAR
The cleverly conceived four-seater Elite secured Lotus a place at the big players' table, but has it been unfairly maligned since then?
"I had a habit of grabbing second place from the jaws of victory"
From dreams of yachting glory to the Le Mans podium, via a stint at the top of the motorsport tree, Howden Ganley had quite the career
Still going strong
Herbert Engineering staked its reputation on the five-year warranty that came with its cars. A century on, this Two Litre hasn't made a claim
One for the kids
General Motors was aiming squarely at the youth market with the launch of the Pontiac GTO 60 years ago, and its runaway success popularised the muscle-car movement
A NEW BREED OF HERO
Launched at the turn of the millennium, the GT3 badge has already earned a place alongside RS, CS and turbo in Porsche lore.
Brits with SIX appeal
The straight-six engine is synonymous with a decades-long legacy of great British sports cars. Six variations on the sextet theme convene for comparison
