Aston Martin is rather proud of its prominent relationship with the James Bond franchise. Perhaps you've noticed. Once upon a time, the manufacturer was content let the world's most famous product placement work its own kind of associative magic; now, not so much. We assumed its ambitions had peaked with the 25 continuation 'Goldfinger' DB5s - priced from £2.75m a pop - but apparently not. With the delayed premiere of 'No Time To Die' now just over the horizon, Aston has revealed two additional Q division models: the Vantage 007 Edition and DBS Superleggera 007 Edition.
Clearly the first is inspired by the Aston Martin V8 which appeared in 'The Living Daylights' (and makes an second appearance in Bond's 25th outing). We're going to stick our neck out here and say it looks pretty ruddy good. The current Vantage has more than its fair share of haters, but with a bespoke mesh grille, yellow details and Cumberland Grey paint, it looks as dashing as it ever has. You can even order it with the skis and ski rack, if you wish.
Inside Aston arguably gets a little carried away: the interior is presented in obsidian black leather and dark chrome (lovely) with 96.60 - the radio frequency Bond used to aid his escape in 'The Living Daylights' embroidered onto the sun visors (okaaay) and the outline of cello 'f holes' on the carbon-fibre seat backs (really?) alongside a laser-etched gadget plaque with references weapons and devices the car definitely doesn't have (ugh) and cross hairs on the paddle shifters (Lordy, no). Still, you can have it as a manual if you like, and that might be quite nice. Either way there will only be 100 units globally.
If that number sounds unreasonably numerous to you, then there's always the DBS, which is limited to 25 examples worldwide. The hook here is that you get a car which is said to faithfully mimic the Superleggera which Bond drives in 'No Time to Die'. To that end there's special Ceramic Grey paint with the roof, mirror caps, splitter, diffuser and rear Aeroblade in black tinted carbon fibre, as well as Gloss Black diamond-turned Y-Spoke 21-inch wheels and a 007 badge.
It looks the part, and doesn't go all Hamleys inside either. Aston claims the 007 branding deployed on the door cars, armrest buckle and rear subwoofer is 'subtle'; hopefully that applies to the sill plaque as well. Otherwise both special edition models are mechanically identical to their non-Bond siblings - which naturally doesn't prevent them from shouldering hefty premiums over standard. The 007 Edition DBS is from £279,025; the Vantage, £161,000. Expect deliveries to begin early next year.
"Creating a 007 Edition is always an exciting challenge as we work to develop and style a car that embodies the legend of James Bond. It is an honour to apply carefully judged 007-inspired styling to our sports cars, which gives our customers the opportunity to own a unique piece of both cinematic and automotive history," remarked Marek Reichman, Aston's Chief Creative Officer. With the yet-to-be launched mid-engined Valhalla also due to make its feature film debut in 'No Time to Die' don't bet on that opportunity being entirely done and dusted just yet.
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