Bond’s cars: The Aston Martin DB5 and DBS
By Straight-Six, published on 3 August 2010
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? James Bond will be forever linked with Aston Martin. While many other marques have come and gone, it is no coincidence that the first and last of Bond’s films have made this automotive circle complete. Perfection of the vintage and modern order.
Now, don’t expect a comparison here, good folk. Instead, we would merely like to draw your attention to the two Astons featured here, in all of their cinematic and real life glory. Because the alluring truth of it all is that you can today buy either of Bond’s cars. Really, you can. And while one will set you back an estimated $5 million at auction, the other is available for a mere $265,000. Clearly, your poker skills had better be up to scratch and Le Chiffre busy worrying about the $100 million he owes…
The Aston Martin D5 first purred onto the scene in Goldfinger under the glowering eyes of Mr. Connery, before appearing in Thunderball too. To that, the anoraks will add GoldenEye (enjoying a spectacular chase, road and female delights…) a small appearance in Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale and even The World Is Not Enough (though only visible through some crummy satellite image).
But this wasn’t just about showing off the gorgeous sheet-metal of the DB5. As always, there was a job to do and a man to do it. For that he needed tools. And weapons. Lots of ‘em. The Bond movie-cars sported them all: machine guns, bullet-proof shield, revolving number plates, tracking device, removable roof panel, oil slick sprayer, nail spreader and smoke screen. And James needed to do nothing more than lift his centre arm-rest to activate one, or all of them.
Yes, that DB5 was truly something and has only increased in its appeal over time. Have one drive by you today and you’ll marvel at its sinewy elegance and manly soundtrack.
This is perhaps why you need to take a massive leap forward to the first 30 seconds of Quantum of Solace to put the DBS in context. That first half-minute is arguably the best of the entire film. The peeks of the DBS in the tunnel, the close-ups of the wheels, the bonnet, the flanks. Yeah, this is San Fernando Valley-quality automotive porn at its very best, and the DBS doesn’t disappoint. Until it can’t outrun a bunch of lousy (if pretty) Alfa Romeo 159s with lotsa bad guys in them. Hmmm.
In fact, we’d go so far as to say the DBS never really gets a fair shake apart from the moment Bond slowly walks up to it in Casino Royale. You know: the first time, before he gets poisoned and has to rapidly access the emergency medical kit with the necessary poison antidote and defib kit. Otherwise, the DBS is treated with incredible scorn by the film-makers who seems more content at barrel-rolling the bloody thing, or simply ripping its doors off.
None of the above stops the DBS from asserting itself as a most striking and butch steed for our man James. It’s also grown into a bit of beefcake, just like him. But, we’d really like to see more of it next time round. That, or give us the larger-than-life One-77.
If you really want to uncover every single little bit of history and ownership of the four DB5s that were used in the early Bond films, then this exhaustive article by our beloved Octane magazine should do the job just fine. Otherwise, prepare your briefcase for Oct. 27 when FMP 7B (UK registration number) goes on auction. Fancy the DBS? You know where the dealer is located.
In the meantime, we’re thoroughly exhausted from researching this piece and damned thirsty after salivating over both of these delicious steeds. That James Bond was the man to drive them both is merely the olive in the Martini.
Speaking of which…it’s cocktail hour!
Bond’s cars: The Aston Martin DB5 and DBS
Let’s cut to the chase, shall we? James Bond will be forever linked with Aston Martin. While many other marques have come and gone, it is no coincidence that the first and last of Bond’s films have made this automotive circle complete. Perfection of the vintage and modern order. Now, don’t expect a comparison here, [...]
2 Responses to “Bond’s cars: The Aston Martin DB5 and DBS”
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Ahhh! Quantum of Solace. That damn film almost deserves its own post. What a wasted, squandered opportunity. Someone needs to tell Marc Forster – the pretentious twerp – that filming everything in close up and cutting every 2 seconds does not an exciting action sequence make.
I’m with Straight-Six: the first 30 secs of the film are masterful, utterly majestic and mysterious. They draw you in and the feeling of anticipation is immense. The rest? I mean literally the next two hours? A complete and utter mess of try-hard editing and directing.
I’m pretty confident that there was a stunning car chase sequence filmed in Italy but how can I be sure? The camera doesn’t stay on the same thing for long enough for me to process what’s going on. There aren’t enough long shots to position the action nor to convey a sense of place. It’s just close-up after close-up edited together in such a slap-dash way that I could be looking at two Skodas chasing each other round a salt mine in Russia for all I know.
What a waste – and all so tragic given the heights the series had reached with Casino Royale. If Bond 23 does ever get back on track, let’s hope that Sam Mendes knows more about directing action than Forster does. Actually, I’m fairly confident that Mendes’ arse knows more about directing action than Forster does.
Ian Skellern
3 August 2010
Regarding the Quantum of Solace intro: into and down the quarry, the mighty Land Rover Defender has no trouble at all keeping up with the Aston DBS and Alfa 159 . . . no trouble until it went over the side that is.