A Beatle and an Aston combine to make a fortune


An Aston Martin owned by Beatle George Harrison has made significantly more than its auction value.

George Harrison's Aston Martin

The George Harrison Aston DB5 Image: COYS

The 1964 DB5/1896/R sold for £350,000 ($548,000) at a "True Greats" auction held by specialist auctioneers, COYS in London.  The platinum silver car, which Harrison bought in 1965, was the focus of intense bidding from around the world and was eventually sold to a Texan enthusiast.

The final price exceeded COYS valuation by around £150,000 as bidding crescendoed in the room and via telephone bidders.

While the Aston Martin may have had the highest celebrity value, the largest sum of the day went to a Mercedes 540 K previously owned by Formula One supremo, Bernie Ecclestone, with the hammer finally coming down on a price tag of £864,000 ($1.35m again significantly exceeding the auctioneer's estimate, with the auction as a whole raising some £4.5m ($7m).