Portsmouth car fan reveals stunning revamped Aston Martin DB5 'identical' to car once owned by Sir Paul McCartney

The immaculate 1964 DB5 drew adoration from crowds as its owner, Richard Bray, a 71-year-old former care home owner, drove it to Portsmouth Point this afternoon.

It came little more than a month after the car underwent a sensitive £314,000 renovation to its former glory at the hands of Spray Tec, in Wellingborough, Northamptonshire.

Mr Bray bought it in January, 2018 for £520,000 in a shabby condition, but had it ‘stripped to a shell’ to start its now-completed two-and-a-half-year transformation.

Its silver birch exterior and mulled red leather interior are identical to the finish of a previous Aston Martin DB5 Mr Bray purchased for £352,000 in 2013.

The car was first owned by Sir Paul McCartney between 1964-70 and collected £1.3m at auction in 2017 after a four-and-a-half-year restoration.

Mr Bray of Old Portsmouth, whose other car is a 2017 Smart Brabus, told The News: ‘I didn't really want to go through two renovations but I had to be sensible and reluctantly sold the McCartney car.

‘I knew when I bought this one it had to be refurbished and, eventually, everything came off it. It took two-and-a-half years.

‘The front section of the car apart from the bonnet is all new and it’s made up of 12 sections of aluminium which have been rolled, welded and shaped.

‘It's not the kind of thing you can take to your local paint shop – it’s a tremendous skill – and the result now is just stunning.

‘It’s a privilege to own this car and it’s even more of a privilege for me to share it with people who stop and appreciate it.

‘This one’s not for sale, ever.’

Sir Paul owned Mr Bray's previous Aston Martin DB5 at the height of the Beatles’ fame after buying it for just more than £4,500 in 1964.

Mr Bray’s new toy is not only ‘identical’ to the musician’s old car inside and out, but modestly carries what would have been a mod con when the singer-songwriter owned it himself.

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‘Interestingly when McCartney had the car in 1964 he had a record player on the build sheet,' Mr Bray said.

‘I also had that refurbished and when the car was re-sold it went with it.

‘I managed to find an identical, original record player to McCartney’s and it’s now in this car.’

Mr Bray formerly owned the Alexandra Rose Care Home in Havant Road, Farlington, and oversaw its 1990s renovation from a family home.

He began his career as an apprentice fitter and turner at Portsmouth Dockyard and worked as cabin crew for British Airways for more than 20 years.