Aston Martin DBS from 'The Persuaders!' heads to auction

James Bond wasn't the only British fictional character associated with cars from Newport Pagnell, even though the MI6 agent did drive Aston Martins in a number of films. But James Bond films weren't the only medium in which Aston Martin cars appeared.

If you watched the opening of the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London, you might have noticed one TV series not referenced in the opening show: "The Persuaders!" starring Roger Moore (a Bond actor himself) along with Tony Curtis. The crime-fighting pair included Curtis, who portrayed the American Danny Wilde and drove a Ferrari Dino 246 GT, while Roger Moore as Lord Brett Sinclair rocked an Aston Martin DBS.

Next month, Bonhams Aston Martin Works auction will offer the car used in the filming of all 24 episodes of the popular TV series, a 1970 DBS. This car debuted right as the show started production; Aston Martin did not have a V8 model ready, so they ended up using a V6 model and adding all the visual specifications of V8 versions of the DBS.

After the car's TV shows days were over, this Bahama yellow DBS had 5,000 miles on the clock, and it was returned to Aston Martin Works for servicing. This was one of those rare instances when a car's interior hadn't been completely ruined during filming. After its first major service, it was simply sold to its first private owner in 1971. It eventually received a detailed restoration at the hands of Aston Martin in the late 1990s when its mileage reached approximately 70,000. The restoration did not involve replacement of interior details, so they remain as they were seen in the TV series when Moore was driving it. Bonhams says that it has been serviced every year by Aston Martin Works since its restoration, and it continues to be in excellent mechanical condition.

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The DBS appeared in all 24 episodes of the TV series in 1970 and 1971.

This striking DBS recently appeared at the 2013 Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este in Italy and at Salon Priv

By Jay Ramey