Yes there was a lot of new car activity 60 years ago in 1963. 

First was the Porsche 911. It appeared at the Frankfurt Motor show as a 2 litre flat 6 producing 130HP. It didn’t actually enter production until 1964, but I’m not going to let a small detail like that get in the way!

Top speed was an aerodynamic 130MPH and 0-60 was Ok-ish at 9.1 sec.  It weighed 1080kg – quite heavy for a small car. 

Testers at the time loved the rear grip – for sprinting out of corners (engine weight at the back) and praised the road holding – all the way up to it letting go into snap oversteer. 

Also launched in 1963 was the Aston Martin DB5. DB was named after David Brown who bought Aston Martin in 1947 and then Lagonda in 48. 

This was a car on a different scale with 282HP from a 4 litre engine. The top speed was 145MPH with 0-60 in 7 sec. That was fast-ish but dulled by a 1,500 kg weight. 

It was found wanting next to the E-Type with 150MPH and 6.1 sec. 

Let’s look at values though, then and now. 

The 911 was $6,490 which comes to £2,326. 

Autocar said the DB5 at £4,248 was the same price as a typical house, but the high speed handling made it worthwhile!

The Hagerty range for a launch 911 is £56k to £136k

The clear (and unsurprising) winner here is the DB5 at £322k – £739k. I haven’t even given you the convertible, obviously more. 

Why the difference, and what can it tell us about future values?

There is one big reason for DB5 demand and that is product placement and being driven by various incarnations of James Bond. 

Fame is always going to help future car values.