James Bond's DB5

RM Auctions, in association with Sotherby’s, is marketing ‘the World’s Most Famous Car’ – James Bond’s DB5 fully loaded with all his fabulous gadgets.

This car is one of the two original 007 DB5s as featured on screen with Sean Connery, but it is the only one still in existence. The car will be going under the hammer at the annual ‘Automobiles of London’ event at the Battersea Evolution venue. It is the first time in its history that it has come onto the market.

Originally loaned to EON Productions for the filming of two Bond movies, the DB5 was returned to Aston Martin Lagonda before being sold to Mr. Jerry Lee in 1969 – for $12,000. It has remained in his sole possession until now and covered just 30,000 miles.

Complete with machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil-slick sprayer, nail-dropper and smokescreen – this car is surely every little (and big) boys dream car…

RM Auctions are anticipating this car to raise a great deal of interest and fully expect it to exceed their estimate. And what would that be? A cool $5m. I for one will be doing the Lotto this weekend.

Lotus Evora Haiti Special Edition

In response to the horrific natural disaster that has crippled the nation of Haiti, Naomi Campbell together with Lotus Cars will be auctioning eight special edition “Naomi for Haiti” Lotus Evora sports cars, with the proceeds from the auction going to help the relief effort in Haiti.

The “Naomi for Haiti” Evora sports car has been specially designed by Lotus Design Director Donato Coco and reflects Naomi’s design direction. The bespoke styling combines the flag of Haiti with a dramatic colour scheme and the cars include a full range of options, meaning these cars will all become desirable collectors items.

The “Naomi for Haiti” Evoras will be auctioned at Naomi Campbell’s Fashion for Relief charity fashion show on the 18th of February at the London Fashion Week venue at Somerset House. The remaining “Naomi for Haiti” Evoras will be entered into an auction run on the “Naomi for Haiti” website www.naomiforhaiti.com and bidding will commence at 08:00 GMT on the 19th of February and will end at 12:00 noon GMT on 28th of February 2010.

The grand total raised for the charity and the highest bidders will be announced by Naomi Campbell at the Geneva Motorshow on the 2nd of March.

An invitation-only gala auction of artworks by the men and women of Bentley’s design and styling team last night raised more than £70,000 for The Christie cancer hospital in Manchester.

Bonhams the auctioneer donated its premises and services in Bond St, London, to host this exclusive event for over 300 guests. The auction was conducted by James Knight, international managing director of Collectors Cars at Bonhams.

The Bentley Styling and Design Art Project was the brainchild of Bentley designer Rich Gilmartin who has been supported by enthusiastic colleagues in the styling studio all of whom have been showcasing their artistic talents. Rich has now raised over £100,000 for the Christie since 2001 in recognition of the care given to his mother by staff at the hospital when she was suffering from cancer.

The collection included a vast array of sculptures, painting, digital art and photography all created by Bentley’s in-house design team, who are better known for the creation of iconic cars such as the Continental GT and the new Bentley Mulsanne.

A mixture of live bidding and silent auction attracted tremendous interest from Bentley owners and enthusiasts both in the UK and abroad. Fierce but good-natured bidding drove up the price of many pieces beyond that expected by the artists themselves. One sculpture alone raised over £20,000 for the Christie.

Dr Paefgen, Chairman and Chief Executive of Bentley said:

“It is a pleasure and a source of great pride to see the creativity of our design team applied beyond our motor cars.  This artistic skill is rarely seen outside the design studio so this unique collection has provided Bentley enthusiasts with the opportunity to own a real piece of Bentley design history.”

Christine Gaskell, Member of the Board for Personnel said:

“The Christie is the leading centre for cancer research and treatment in the northwest of England and has touched the lives of many Bentley employees.  Everyone at Bentley welcomed the opportunity to support this project and we have been overwhelmed by the interest in the collection.”

Toni Leden, Appeals Director at the Christie said:

“The dedication and inspiration of the Bentley design and styling team has resulted in a stunning contribution to the work we do in cancer research and treatment. The collaboration with Bentley has been very successful and we are thrilled that the art works have raised so much money to support the Christie.”

Rich Gilmartin, the designer from whom the concept originated, said:

“The Christie cared for my mother during her illness and I was truly inspired by the care and empathy shown to her by staff at the hospital.  Because I was there at the time my connection to the hospital goes very deep and this project has been a very good, positive step to go forward and do something different.”