Aston Martin launches James Bond car for children 1:03
(CNN) -
James Bond, the fictional British secret agent, drove many different cars in the more than two dozen films in the series.
There is everything from BMW and Bentley to Chevrolet and Ford.
But one car in particular, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5, is known as "the Bond car."
The Bond car that the late actor Sean Connery first drove in the 1964 film "Goldfinger" was an Aston Martin DB5 packed with gadgets like machine guns, an ejection seat and an oil-slick chute.
More than 50 years later, Connery wanted a 1964 DB5 for himself, and after searching for more than a year, in early 2018 he finally bought one, without the guns and gadgets from the movie car.
Connery died almost two years later at the age of 90. His DB5, the only one he really owned, will go up for sale at auction this summer.
The car is expected to sell for between $1.4 million and $1.8 million, according to auction company Broad Arrow Group.
The car will be offered at the Broad Arrow Group auction in Monterey, California on August 18, the company told CNN Business.
See Aston Martin's $123,000 James Bond Car for Kids
A 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in this car's pristine condition would normally be worth about $1 million, even if Connery had never been near it, according to Hagerty.
(Hagerty, a company that monitors collectible car values, is also a major investor in the recently founded Broad Arrow Group.)
However, the DB5s associated with the James Bond movies have sold for much more than that.
A device-packed DB5 used to promote the original release of the film sold for $6.4 million in 2019.
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During his life, Connery often mentioned fond memories of driving the Aston Martin in the movies to his children, his son Jason Connery said in an interview.
When they grew up they suggested to his father that he buy one, but he was resistant to the idea.
Actor Sean Connery poses as James Bond next to an Aston Martin DB5 in a scene from 'Goldfinger' in 1964. (Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images)
"He was like, 'I don't want to because it feels a little obvious, you know, with me,'" Jason Connery said.
"I told him, 'But forget it, that's not what this is about.'"
Barney Ruprecht, an Aston Martin specialist with Broad Arrow who had also consulted with Connery to make the purchase, advised Connery not to buy a car that needed restoration as the job would likely take a couple of years, he said.
Instead, he and Connery searched for a car that was in the best possible condition.
The car remains almost in that state, according to Ruprecht, with only a few creases in the leather of the seat as evidence that they have been sitting there.
Sean Connery's residence on the French Riviera is for sale
Once Connery bought the car, he repainted it from black to Snow Shadow Grey, the color of the car in the movie.
In the movies, the car is described as being painted a color called Silver Birch, but the movie was shot with a prototype of the DB5, not an actual production car.
Silver Birch, a color offered on production versions of the DB5, was not available at the time, Ruprecht said, so the car was painted in the slightly flatter, less metallic shade of gray offered on the DB5. DB4.
However, the two colors would have been nearly indistinguishable on film, he said.
But after that job was done, there was little time left to drive it.
"Unfortunately, as he got older, traveling, especially to Europe [became difficult] and then covid hit and..." Jason Connery said.
"You know, unfortunately, he never really got to enjoy the car that he bought."
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Connery kept the car at his home in Switzerland, according to Jason Connery.
She was so fond of the car that she had a picture of it on his desk.
A portion of the proceeds from the sale will go to support the Connery Family Philanthropy Fund, according to Broad Arrow Group, though the percentage going to charity will be announced at a later date.
In addition to the car itself, the winning bidder will get a ride in the car of famous retired Formula 1 racing driver Jackie Stewart.
Stewart, like Connery, is from Scotland, and the two were longtime friends.
Aston Martin James Bond Sean Connery
