While much is being made, justifiably, of RM's Leggenda e Passione Ferrari auction, there's another one-make auction coming up that is only less dramatic because it happens annually. Bonhams Aston Martin sale takes place May 12th and, like the Ferrari affair in Maranello, happens at the very place where Astons were built for decades; Newport Pagnell.

The cars come from before the war and after the war, right up to contemporary times, and as usual there are some beauties on offer. You can see them and read more detail on Classic Driver magazine's site, which was my point of reference for this blog. In my imaginings I'd bid on the 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante Convertible above, for it epitomises all I admire about the great British marque. According to Bonham's catalog, it received a total restoration at the factory service department and comes with an 80-page report by the Aston Martin Heritage Center detailing each phase of the work completed. Estimates are in the range of $438,000 - $498,000.

Other Astons on sale include a 1989 V-8 Zagato Volante and a 1989 Vantage Volante Prince of Wales, one of 25 replicas of a one-off made for his Royal Highness; plus a really rare bird: the 2005 Aston Martin DBR9 race car. Also for sale is a wide variety of Aston Martin memorabilia. Let's see now... perhaps I could buy the James Bond Aston Martin gear Lever knob with ejector seat button and attach it to that Aston Martin bicycle for fast exits.