Lord Brett Sinclair, BS1

"The Persuaders" Lord Brett Sinclair's Aston Martin DBS is for sale at Bonhams at the Aston Martin Works sale on the 17th of May at Newport Pagnell.

This famous Aston Martin DBS was manufactured in the spring of 1970, complete with special modifications specifically for its intended role in the British television series'The Persuaders!' in which it featured prominently in almost all of the 24 one-hour episodes, driven by Roger Moore. Moore had previously starred as the eponymous hero in the television adventure series 'The Saint', which had been produced by Robert S Baker, and was the latter's choice to play the role of Lord Brett Sinclair in 'The Persuaders!' Baker invited Aston Martin to provide a car for Moore in the new television series, in which he would co-star with Hollywood legend Tony Curtis, playing the part of Danny Wilde. Wealthy playboys, the Englishman Sinclair and American Wilde were brought together by retired Judge Fulton (played by Laurence Naismith) to fight crime and corruption. Although 'chalk-and-cheese' opposites, the men became great friends and constantly risked their lives for one another. 'The Persuaders!' was destined to be the most expensive television series filmed to date, using various glamorous locations around Europe. 

Moore had expressed an interest in the Aston Martin DBS, which he felt would be ideally suited to the character of Lord Brett Sinclair. Curtis's character Danny Wilde was to drive a Ferrari (which proved to be a Dino 246GT) and the cars were always intended to be an important element of the new show and indeed central to much of the action. Naturally, Aston Martin were eager to provide a car for Roger Moore and even arranged for one of their mechanics to be present throughout the production to make sure the DBS was always at its best. 

It made sense to provide their latest model, the recently unveiled DBS V8, in order to gain maximum benefit from the planned television exposure. However, production of the new V8-engined DBS was not yet in full swing and it proved impossible to provide one in time for the start of filming. The decision was made to provide a standard six-cylinder DBS but to build the car as a DBS V8 in all visual respects, as if 'wearing makeup' for its starring role. A standard DBS (chassis number '5636') was nearing completion on the Newport Pagnell production line in the rare colour of Bahama Yellow and seemed an ideal candidate for the role. The modifications were limited to V8-type hubs and wheels (15" GKN alloys) and V8 badging. 

Filming commenced with the DBS featuring in a memorable race against Tony Curtis's Ferrari Dino from Nice Airport to the Hotel de Paris in Monaco. Later episodes were filmed in locations such as Rome, Paris and London. Estimate is £350,000 to £550,000 in case you are interested.