“The names Bond... James Bond.” And I’m back driving an Aston in my 24thfilm outing...
You can’t avoid Bond at the moment thanks to the cinematic release ofSPECTRE. This is the latest outing for Daniel Craig as 007 and it has just smashed the British box office record netting a cool £40 million in the opening week alone, which goes some way to recuperating the £200 million total production cost.
According to reports, £24 million alone was spent on cars for the movie, many of which were written off during a memorable chase scene through the street of Rome.
In the film, Bond is seen driving a prototype Aston Martin DB10 whilst being actively pursued by evil henchman ‘Mr HINX’ in a Jaguar CX75 prototype - cue plenty of night-time drifting across slippery cobbles and slick trickery behind the wheel.
Bond has certainly driven some memorable vehicles over the last 50 years and the DB10 is the latest in a long line of Astons favoured by Britain’s best-loved secret agent.
To celebrate the release of SPECTRE we take a look at some of Bond’s best Aston Martin moments, this should appeal to fans of the film franchise and Aston lovers in equal measures.
Own one of these beauties and you’d certainly want to keep them under wraps hidden beneath a Storm Car Cover.
Aston Martin DB5 – Goldfinger (1964)
Q branch first equipped 007 with an Aston Martin during the 1964 film Goldfinger but this was no ordinary stock DB5. Sure, it still had the 3995cc engine producing 282bhp, but it was also a gadget-laden item of field equipment and some of the quirkier features it contained included:
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Twin machine guns hidden behind front sidelights
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Revolving number plates
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Extending front and rear battering rams
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Bulletproof screen
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Rear oil spray, nail spreader and smoke dispenser
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Bulletproof screen to protect rear window
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Radar tracker
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Tyre slashers
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Front passenger seat ejector
The DB5 was an instant success with Bond fans. It cemented the relationship between Aston Martin and 007 and Bond can be seen driving it in a number of films including Thunderball, Goldeneye, SkyFalland you might just see it in SPECTREtoo!!
Aston Martin DBS – OHMSS (1969)
After Sean Connery decided to hang up his 007 holster an unknown Australian actor named George Lazenby was handed the role of Bond. He might have been an unfamiliar name, and he might have only lasted for one film, but at least he got to drive an Aston Martin in the film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The model in question was a DBS with a straight six 3995cc engine and a top speed of 140mph. Sadly on this occasion there were no gadgets equipped to the car and that’s a shame really, had it been equipped with a bulletproof windscreen it might have saved Mrs Bond’s life at the end of the film.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage – The Living Daylights (1987)
Timothy Dalton brought a different dynamic to the Bond role when he stepped into Roger Moore’s recently vacated 007 shoes for the 1987 film The Living Daylights. He was a classically trained actor that wanted to return Bond back to his original roots and breathe new life into the series, which many critics argue he did rather well.
The actor playing Bond might have changed but his preferred mode of transport remained the same. For this mission he was handed the keys to a 5.3 litre V8 Vantage complete with both a soft top and a hard top ‘winterised’ roof.
Q branch gave this car an array of gadgets including:
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Tyre spikes for ice driving
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Laser shooting hubcaps
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Jet boost
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Retractable outriggers for snowy conditions
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Heat seeking missiles hidden behind front fog lights
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Bulletproof windows
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Self-destruct timer
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish – Die Another Day (2002)
Pierce Brosnan narrowly missed out on the opportunity to play 007 in 1986 after Roger Moore handed back his licence to kill. At the time Brosnan was still contracted to the television series Remington Steele so viewers had to wait until 1995 to finally see him wearing the infamous tux.
Skip forward to 2002 and Brosnan’s Bond is given a licence to thrill as he takes the wheel of an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish. Q crams countless goodies into this car and some of the most noticeable features are:
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Semi-automatic machine guns hidden under air vents
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Rockets hidden behind grille
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Remote controlled starting
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Passenger ejector seat
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Retracting tyre spikes
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Adaptive camouflage
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Thermal imaging
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Bulletpoof glass
Aston Martin DBS V12 – Casino Royale (2006)
Daniel Craig became the latest actor to play 007 in 2006. Sceptics were initially a little reserved about him being the first ‘blonde Bond’ and were also concerned about his lack of height, at 5` 10” he was considerably shorter than previous actors who’d taken on the role.
Once Casino Royale premiered at the box office though it was pretty obvious Craig had made the role his own, he looked especially comfortable driving Bond’s latest company car – an Aston Martin DBS V12.
Gadgets-wise it was a bit lacking, merely carrying a spare Walther and a defibrillator of all things!
However, this car is most remembered for setting a Guinness World Record for most barrel rolls at the time of filming, achieving a remarkable seven rotations at 70mph!
Aston Martin DB10 – SPECTRE (2015)
