James Bond has driven plenty of vehicles over the course of his many on-screen exploits. The one that is most quintessentially Bond, however, is the silver Aston Martin DB5. This is the car that even non-car lovers will recognize as 007's preferred ride.

One Bond fan went all out on Thursday to own a piece of movie and automotive history. The mystery fan placed a winning bid of $6,385,000 at RM Sotheby's Monterey Car Week auction to purchase an original Bond DB5. The figure was well above the estimate of between $4,000,000 and $6,000,000 and is a new record for DB5s.

One of the two DB5s that was actually used during filming of "Goldfinger" and "Thunderball" sold for $4.1 million in 2010, though we're sure the car will be worth quite a bit more today given the steep increases in collector cars over the past decade. The car other used during filming went missing in 1997.

The car you see here is a 1965 example bearing chassis number DB5/2008/R and was built as a promo car for “Thunderball” released the same year. Two of them were ordered by the film's producer, Eon Productions, to do duty on the U.S. east and west coasts.

1965 Aston Martin DB5 chassis no. DB5/2008/R, “Thunderball” promo car

1965 Aston Martin DB5 chassis no. DB5/2008/R, “Thunderball” promo car

The promo cars were built to the same specification as the DB5 that appeared in “Goldfinger” a year earlier, including all of the spy gadgetry like the rotating license plates, bullet-proof shield, and ram bars.

After their promo duty, the cars were mothballed by Eon Productions as the next Bond movies featured different cars. They were eventually sold to collector Anthony Bamford in 1970, who later sold chassis no. DB5/2008/R to the owner of the Smokey Mountain Car Museum in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. It was eventually sold again in 2006.

Sean Connery as James Bond

Sean Connery as James Bond

Speaking on the DB5, Sean Connery, arguably the most popular actor to have played Bond, said in a statement that the DB5 has become “increasingly iconic” since it first appeared on screen and that he himself recently purchased one. That likely rules him out as the mystery buyer of this DB5.

Note, anyone that lost the bidding war can call up Aston Martin and order one of the 25 DB5 “Goldfinger” continuation cars that the automaker is currently offering. These will also come with all of the spy gadgetry that appeared on screen.

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake Photo: RM Sotheby's

1965 Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake Photo: RM Sotheby's

The RM Sotheby's auction also saw a rare 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Shooting Brake go under the hammer. Its final bid came in at $1,765,000.

For more Monterey Car Week coverage, head to our dedicated hub.