1957 Aston Martin DB Mark III
The 1957 Aston Martin DB Mark III is a beauty and is
fitting for the suave playboy image that is James Bond. Fortunate slip however, as the DB Mark III was
Bond’s first Aston Martin as written in Ian Flemming’s 1959 novel, Goldfinger.
The Mark III was built in the David Brown era, the
origin of the DB moniker, and began production in 1957 and continued through to
1959 when the DB4 became its successor. The Mark III is extremely rare as only
551 were built.
The DB Mark III is a Feltham-era car built using the
grille from the DB3 race car, with an aluminum body on a tubular chassis. It is
a 2+2 seater available as a Coupé or Drophead Coupé; with the Drophead Coupé
being the most sought after by collectors as only 84 were built.
Polish Automobile engineer, Tadek Marek, redesigned
the 3-litre engine in the DB2/4 Mark II to provide the Mark III with 162-bhp
output on a single-pipe exhaust system, and 178-bhp on an optional twin-pipe
version. The engine is a straight-six, dual overhead cam in a front engine
layout. A 4-speed manual gearbox was standard in these models with the optional
overdrive or 3-speed automatic.
The Mark III’s were faster than their predecessors
achieving a top speed of 120-mph and hitting the 60-mph mark in less than 10
seconds. This car held particular appeal to the American market and more than
two-thirds were exported to the US.
The last Mark III was
a 1957 model by Tickford auctioned at Amelia Island for US$ 335,500. Prior to
that, a 1958 Drophead model went for US$ 1,012,000 at Pebble Beach in 2014.
