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Roger Moore's 1970 Aston Martin DBS sells for $900k [w/video]

Think of Roger Moore zipping around Europe in an Aston Martin thwarting evil plans, and you'll probably think James Bond, right? Wrong. Because though 007 has driven a variety of Astons in the various films over the years, none of those were in the Moore era. He drove a Chevy Impala in Live and Let Die, a Mercedes in The Man With The Golden Gun, a Lotus Esprit in both The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, a Range Rover in Octopussy and a Ford LTD in A View to a Kill. But that wasn't the only jet-setting do-gooder Moore played. He drove a Volvo as Simon Templar in The Saint, but after that and before his Bond days, he got his turn behind the wheel of an Aston in a television series called The Persuaders! The show starred Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair and Tony Curtis as American playboy Danny Wilde in a TV series that ran on both ITV in the UK and ABC in the US. It sadly only ran for one 24-episode season, but remains a cult classic. The series was as much about the cars as it was the stars, with Curtis speeding around Europe in a Ferrari 246 GT Dino and Moore in this yellow 1970 Aston Martin DBS. And it just sold at auction. As Octane pointed out when it drove the car for its September 2013 issue, the car was loaned to the show's producers and, though it packs the 4.0-liter inline-six of the DBS, was fitted with the wheels and badges of the Aston Martin V8 that followed – just without the eight-cylinder engine. It was sold to a private owner after the show finished filming and then bounced around different owners before collector and enthusiast Mike Sanders bought it and subsequently sold it to one Ed Stratton. Ed brought it back to show spec, took it to Villa d'Este, had Moore and Curtis sign the inside of the trunk lid, and now put it up for auction. The star of Bonhams' 15th annual sale at the Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell this past weekend, the DBS sold for a record GBP533,500 – equivalent to almost $900k at today's rates – contributing to GBP8.7 million ($14.6m) in total sales that day. Find the press release below, along with a video of a pretty great scene from The Persuaders! with both Moore and Curtis. ROGER MOORE'S 'THE PERSUADERS!' ASTON MARTIN SETS WORLD RECORD FOR A DBS SOLD AT AUCTION 17 May 2014, The Aston Martin Works Sale In its 15th year Bonhams Aston Martin Works sale totals at GBP8.7 million Roger Moore's 'The Persuaders!' Aston Martin DBS sets world record for DBS sold at auction, selling for GBP533,500.

Aston Martin close to IPO on the London Stock Exchange

According to a report from Sky News, Aston Martin is close to announcing plans to go public with an IPO on the London Stock Exchange. A listing on the New York Stock Exchange has also reportedly been considered. In December of last year, news broke that the company's owners had hired financial advisory firm Lazard to prepare for a potential offering. The report suggests that the British automaker is looking at an offering of $1.29 billion (GBP1 billion) in shares and an overall company valuation of around $6.44 billion (GBP5 billion). An Intention To Float statement could be filed as early as next week, says Sky. Last year was good for Aston Martin, with a total of 5,117 vehicles sold globally, a 58 percent jump from 2016. The company reported pre-tax profits of nearly $112 million (GBP87 million) in 2017. And it is working on a flurry of new products such as the Valkyrie supercar, an upcoming SUV, the new DBS Superleggera (shown above), and even an ultra-exclusive, real-life James Bond gadget-laden DB5. As of right now, Aston Martin's largest investors are I taly's Investindustrial and Kuwait's Investment Dar. Daimler also holds a sizable stake. Aston said it had filed a registration document with Britain's Financial Conduct Authority, a requirement for firms considering an IPO, at a time when the likes of Tesla boss Elon Musk have slammed the additional pressures of being listed. Pending a final decision from the FCA, a prospectus will be published on or around Sept. 20 as the maker of sports cars that can cost hundreds of thousands of pounds hopes to tap into global demand from wealthy buyers who want a slice of the high-end brand. The carmaker hopes to complete the flotation this year, the same target that British Prime Minister Theresa May is working towards to agree a deal for leaving the European Union. Aston sells roughly 25 percent of its cars to the EU and operates its only plant in Gaydon, central England, with a second one due to begin operations in Wales in 2019. "We can demonstrate that Brexit is not a major effect for us," Chief Executive Andy Palmer told Reuters. "If there is a tariff into Europe, it's countered by a tariff into the UK for our competitors so you might lose a little bit of market share in the EU but you pick it up in the UK," he said. Niche carmakers such as Aston and McLaren are more concerned about customs checks than tariffs as they believe many of their buyers can absorb a price hike.

Aston Martin investor says demand is 'phenomenal,' returned first in China

LONDON - Carmaker Aston Martin is seeing "phenomenal" demand, boosted by a rebound in China, the company's executive chairman and billionaire investor Lawrence Stroll said on Friday. "Demand right now is phenomenal," he told the Financial Times' "The Future of the Car" digital conference. "China really returned first and strongest, and is gangbusters." Stroll led a consortium which invested in Aston earlier this year as the carmaker struggled following its 2018 stock market flotation, after which its share price slumped. Since then a new chief executive has taken over and the 107-year company, famed for being fictional agent James Bond's car of choice, did a deal in October which sees German carmaker Daimler up its stake in the firm. Shareholders approved the latest capital injection plan on Friday. Stroll said Aston's current growth trajectory meant "the public markets are the right place" for the firm whilst eying an increase in the value of its shares, which stand at 79 pence ($1.06). "They'll be significantly worth more than they are today," he said. Reporting by Costas Pitas, editing by David Milliken and Louise Heavens