You can't buy James Bond's current car, the Aston Martin DB10. But you can buy this 1953 Bentley Type-R Continental commissioned by the character's creator, Ian Fleming -- for $1,495,000.
Although 007 is currently an Aston man, he used to be one of the Bentley boys. In fact, he drove a Type-R Continental in the book Thunderball.
Whether art was imitating life or the other way 'round, Fleming ordered the Bentley you see above for his friend Ivar Felix Bryce who served as the inspiration for CIA agent Felix Leiter in the Bond book series.
Before 40 years in a California garage rendered it a dusty shell of its once former glory, when the Type-R was delivered to Bryce, it was slathered in Deep Grey paint and finished with rear fender spats.
Adding to the rarity of the car, Fleming also specified the car with lefthand drive, a manual gearbox, lightweight seats and fitted luggage designed to perfectly correspond to the car's trunk.
If that weren't enough provenance for you, the Gullwing Motor Cars, the company offering the car up for sale, claims it was also a first-class winner at the 1971 Concours d'Elegance.
Despite that, if you're thinking that just shy of $1.5 million is a bit steep for a dusty old Bentley owned by a famous author's friend, you might be on to something. This car was actually put up for auction earlier this year and failed to sell.
Hagerty values a pristine example of a '53 Type-R Continental at $1.4 million. This one, as you can quickly tell, doesn't quite meet that mark. So, while it might be cool, it seems certainly overpriced.
