RE: James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 | Driven

[P5BNij]

Bond...? Pah, it was much better looking in Dubbonet Red when Anthony Quayle drove it in 'The Saint' in '63...

[A1VDY]

Can't see the importance of BMT, it's no different to any other db5. Having JB fart in it doesn't increase its value..

[spikyone]

pppppppppppppppp said:

Cold said:

Are some confusing James Bond with a documentary?

Exactly. It's just a bloody film. If it keeps you entertained for a couple of hours then it's done its job.
None of them are realistic and very few are close to the original books. On Her Majesty's Secret Service was the closest and it was widely derided.

As for the cars, I'd like the 80s one please.

Casino Royale was incredibly close to the book, albeit that it added a couple of scenes. Going back to Brosnan-style movies that tried to be Hollywood blockbusters - the movies furthest removed from the Bond of the books - after dangling that carrot was a massive disappointment for me.

rosetank said:

spikyone said:

That's a lot of trouble to go to for an unnecessary and incongruous movie car. I'll inevitably end up seeing it soon after it's released, but it's pretty depressing that we've gone from the gritty, literary-inspired Bond of Casino Royale to the Bond-by-numbers of Skyfall, Spectre, and now this. They need to just give it a bloody rest with the DB5.

Yes, let’s all forget all the deeply beautiful cars of the world and get ready for EV

Where did I suggest that? I can live with them kitting out a modern sports/supercar with gadgets (though they don't need to do it in every bloody film - pre-Brosnan, movies with gadgety cars were in the minority). The issue is the inexplicable use of a 50 year old car, included only as a reference to a completely different James Bond.

I understand it's not a documentary, but using the DB5 is needless nostalgia and it sticks out like a sore thumb in a movie set beyond the 1980s. Don't forget the British army contacted the film makers after Thunderball was released to find out about Bond's underwater breathing device, which they didn't realise was fake! It doesn't need to be real, it just needs to be halfway plausible.

[2manycars]

I’m not bothered about these Frankenstein replica DB5’s as long as the original ones keep increasing in price.

[spikyone]

I guess another way to explain my objection to the DB5 rehashing is that Daniel Craig using a gadgety DB5 is akin to the new Batman coming out with Robert Pattinson driving around Gotham in this:

[Blackpuddin]

Love that they went to the trouble of sourcing a Lancia Thesis, not so much loving it being 'shot up' though.

[firebird350]

Blackpuddin said:

Love that they went to the trouble of sourcing a Lancia Thesis, not so much loving it being 'shot up' though.

Now there's an idea for Bond's latest car - a Lancia Thesis! Why not? After all, it's got a face as miserable as Daniel Craig's...or, to quote The Critical Drinker in his YouTube assessment of the trailer for 'No Time to Die': "Jesus Christ, dude, you must be the only guy on the planet who DOESN'T want to be Bond" (obviously I can't do the Drinker's unique accent in print!). Anyhoo...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ol8E-cPOhdA

[Triumph Man]

Blackpuddin said:

Love that they went to the trouble of sourcing a Lancia Thesis, not so much loving it being 'shot up' though.

I like the Lancia Thesis

[generationx]

spikyone said:

I guess another way to explain my objection to the DB5 rehashing is that Daniel Craig using a gadgety DB5 is akin to the new Batman coming out with Robert Pattinson driving around Gotham in this:

I can't be the only one here who desperately wants that to happen?

[Moospeed]

[quote:article]...and its limited athleticism...
[/quote]

Whaaaat!! Don't you remember it racing the 355 GTS near Monte Carlo? OK, so it effectively lost out but there were extenuating circumstances...

[budding911man]

Great to see and read, thanks - my uncle was John Stears (the real Q) - he built the original Bond DB5 for the studios in the '60s -

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stears

.... so I really enjoyed this article and review of the new 'continuation cars' mirroring some of the great man's handywork Its an icon for sure: and I've watched DB5s rocket from £100k to over £800k over not a lot of time. In fact Silverstone Auctions have one with reserve of nearly £900k at the Race Retro auction this coming weekend... so this article is quite timely if anyone wants one (and has that sort of £mular going spare). Matt Stears

Edited by budding911man on Friday 21st February 16:10

[stears]

What an absolute legend John Stears was!!!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stears

[donutskidmark]

La Liga said:

Is AM the only brand that isn't made more lame by the JB association?

No, Aston Martin is also made more lame.

007 - Aston have been flogging this dead horse for decades, it’s so boring.
Oh it’s so exciting to see the DB5 on screen- not

[Olas]

If James Bins were real he wouldn’t drive an attention-getting car, it would be an ‘invisible’ grey 320d or white A4 with enterprise rental stickers on the bootlid. Q would have significantly improved the performance and dynamics of course, but IF He ever drove or owned an AM it would’ve been locked away safe in a temperature and humidity controlled garage and never driven.

[pjagger69]

I made 5 of those carbon bonnets and the tub that goes behind the grille last year. Best thing I’ve done in my entire working career.

Never been so nervous when starting to cut out the iconic bonnet air vent.

[budding911man]

pjagger69 said:

I made 5 of those carbon bonnets and the tub that goes behind the grille last year. Best thing I’ve done in my entire working career.

Never been so nervous when starting to cut out the iconic bonnet air vent.

Nice work pjagger - sounds a bit like the work done to produce the AC 'CRS' factory cars that were carbon-bodied (but not many people appreciate that once they are painted. Of course they have to be painted as noone expects to see a classic body shell finished in kevlar weave).

[dvb70]

Olas said:

If James Bins were real he wouldn’t drive an attention-getting car, it would be an ‘invisible’ grey 320d or white A4 with enterprise rental stickers on the bootlid. Q would have significantly improved the performance and dynamics of course, but IF He ever drove or owned an AM it would’ve been locked away safe in a temperature and humidity controlled garage and never driven.

I think the fact James Bond is a famous secret agent who all his adversaries seem to have heard of is probably a bigger issue than them driving a flashy car. I don't think you can really do the whole real world thing with James Bond. It's a fantasy world where a secret agent uses an identity that everyone seems to know.

[mhurley]

GTEYE said:

My claim to fame is having sat in the actual original Goldfinger car when I was a toddler, and the car was returned to Aston Martin works - my dad worked there. A pity I don't actually remember it personally!

The original Goldfinger car was apparently bought by the film company as a standard car, converted with the various gadgets, and then after film duties were complete was returned to be reconverted back to standard production spec.

The story was that the car was then re-sold and the various modifications were then reinstated by the new owner!

This is the one that was stolen years ago and has never been found
A sister car with no gadgets was used in the film (which since had gadgets added)
And there were two promotional cars with gadgets that weren't used in the film

Confusing :-)

The Goldfinger gadgets car made an appeared in Cannonball Run albeit with a different reg plate

Edited by mhurley on Monday 24th February 10:44

[budding911man]

mhurley said:

This is the one that was stolen years ago and has never been found
A sister car with no gadgets was used in the film (which since had gadgets added)
And there were two promotional cars with gadgets that weren't used in the film

Confusing :-)

The Goldfinger gadgets car made an appeared in Cannonball Run albeit with a different reg plate

Edited by mhurley on Monday 24th February 10:44

Very confusing. Sadly John Stears is no longer with us (and he did create all the gadgets you mention above on the first studio car, including cutting the hole in the roof personally) to verify any of this and I wouldn't want to guess what was what. However Dave Worrell's book "The Most Famous Car in the World" explains much of it. I still have my signed copy of this book by Dave - and it is a good read for Aston and movie enthusiasts alike - I recommend picking up a copy for a read through - its all in there, the detail that is. https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/yn4AAOSwPGBd179~/s-...

I was always a fan of the Bond Esprit too (now owned by Elon Musk), and I agree the DB is bit overused in the Bond Franchise (it suited the '60s movies but not the modern-day IMO) but definitely has a certain something, and its nice to see British Cars in the films (I actually quite like the BMW marque - but not when they started using it as 007's car for a bit - that was just wrong). However I take the point that a real secret agent would drive something quite a bit more understated than the above - true that in real life, but not in Ian Flemming's world.

Edited by budding911man on Monday 24th February 15:12

[Shakermaker]

Olas said:

If James Bins were real he wouldn’t drive an attention-getting car, it would be an ‘invisible’ grey 320d or white A4 with enterprise rental stickers on the bootlid. Q would have significantly improved the performance and dynamics of course, but IF He ever drove or owned an AM it would’ve been locked away safe in a temperature and humidity controlled garage and never driven.

Nah... if you use the "Peter Griffin" logic - the bad guys would be looking for someone in a mundane car. That guy in a classic that stands out a mile away can't POSSIBLY be a secret agent...