An unfinished history of all the James Bond Aston Martins

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Comments

  • ImpertinentGoonImpertinentGoon Everybody needs a hobby.
    Posts: 1,351
    mtm wrote: »
    I wouldn’t mind a car that isn’t an Aston next time though, it was nice when they had different cars. Not sure what’s suitable though: if you stick to British brands I’m not sure if there are many good choices. Jaguar don’t really make anything in Bond’s line (the F Type is a little small for him); Bentley is about right but I think it’s a bit naff(!); Lotuses aren’t the great lookers that the Esprit was (but still quite cool)... maybe a McLaren would feel fresh?

    Still waiting for the triumphant return of Craig's ultimate hero car - the Ford Mondeo!

    Maybe we'll get it in 2031 for it's 25th!

    To be serious for a second: To me, Aston Martin currently best manages to fill the gap between super-sportscar and random saloon car. Jaguar: The F-Type is indeed too small, and the XJ or XF too boring; McLaren and Esprit are for my taste all much to sporty, they don't look like they should be on a street but exlusively on a race track (maybe the Evora or a 570S could work, but to me they are too flashy); Land Rover is a whole different discussion, but I don't really see Bond in an SUV as his primary car; Mini, Rolls Royce and Vauxhall are out for obvious reasons (too small, too grand, too blegh); that leaves only Bentley and while I think there is something strange looking with the Continental GT, I don't think it is a bad car and also straddles the devide between boring and too racy quite well.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited March 2021 Posts: 14,861
    Yeah I don't really like the McLarens; they just don't have any style and don't do much for me. But it would be something a bit different for Bond, and as we've seen him in the Esprit it's not like he's never gone mid-engined. The GT could work for him perhaps.
    Some sort of really top end Range Rover seems possible at some point.

    Bentleys should work but I just find them a bit nasty: too much horrible chrome and quilted leather and cut-glass wine decanter headlamps. They have a bit of a tasteless feel to them. I guess I'd get used to it though.
    The funny thing is that Aston is still really the natural fit for him.
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Does the Aston use the LED plates?
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    No, it does not.
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    That's sad!
  • MartinBondMartinBond Trying not to muck it up again
    edited October 2021 Posts: 858
    Per my interview with and book by Will Lawrence:

    Goldfinger:
    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car"

    Thunderball:
    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car"

    GoldenEye:
    2 cars acquired through Stratton Motor Company in 1995, in poor condition but prepped for film work.

    1 "hero car", "JB Z6 007"
    on loan from a private owner, "Casino Square" scene.
    Sold somewhere after filming to Orlando Motor Museum, Florida

    post-filming, both stunt cars were properly restored.

    Stunt car 1 (GES1 for clarity)
    sold to Cars Of The Stars Museum, then on to a private owner who showed it at the Bond In Motion exhibitions at Beaulieu and London. Sold in 2018 to the SPYSCAPE museum in New York.

    Stunt car 2 (GES2 from now on)
    Retained by EON post-filming.


    Tomorrow Never Dies:
    GES2

    The World Is Not Enough:
    GES2 (Deleted scene only)

    Casino Royale:
    2 left-hand-drive examples sourced through Aston Martin, 1 rare automatic.

    Skyfall:
    Green/tan example (SFG for short)
    repainted/retrimmed immediately before filming
    lock-up scenes

    GES2
    "Skyfall" arrival scenes

    Both were used for the attack scenes.

    Porsche 928 as DB5:
    for the explosion shots.

    Spectre:
    "Restoration" scene
    Car and parts on loan from Aston Martin Works.

    GES2
    "One Thing I Need" scene

    No Time To Die:
    SFG
    GES2

    Both used as "hero cars"

    2 gadget car mockups
    2 "pod cars"
    4 "stunt cars", mady to look like DB5's with fibreglass bodies over BMW engine/chassis'.

    gadget cars:

    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car", tricked out after filming for Thunderball wrapped.

    DB5/2008/R
    Never registered, JB 007 plate

    DB5/2017/R
    Never registered, JB 007 plate

  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    That's brilliant, excellent summary, thanks.

    When you say '2 gadget car mockups' for NTTD, those were BMW replicas too?
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    MartinBond wrote: »
    Per my interview with and book by Will Lawrence:

    Goldfinger:
    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car"

    Thunderball:
    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car"

    GoldenEye:
    2 cars acquired through Stratton Motor Company in 1995, in poor condition but prepped for film work.

    1 "hero car", "JB Z6 007"
    on loan from a private owner, "Casino Square" scene.
    Sold somewhere after filming to Orlando Motor Museum, Florida

    post-filming, both stunt cars were properly restored.

    Stunt car 1 (GES1 for clarity)
    sold to Cars Of The Stars Museum, then on to a private owner who showed it at the Bond In Motion exhibitions at Beaulieu and London. Sold in 2018 to the SPYSCAPE museum in New York.

    Stunt car 2 (GES2 from now on)
    Retained by EON post-filming.


    Tomorrow Never Dies:
    GES2

    The World Is Not Enough:
    GES2 (Deleted scene only)

    Casino Royale:
    2 left-hand-drive examples sourced through Aston Martin, 1 rare automatic.

    Skyfall:
    Green/tan example (SFG for short)
    repainted/retrimmed immediately before filming
    lock-up scenes

    GES2
    "Skyfall" arrival scenes

    Both were used for the attack scenes.

    Porsche 928 as DB5:
    for the explosion shots.

    Spectre:
    "Restoration" scene
    Car and parts on loan from Aston Martin Works.

    GES2
    "One Thing I Need" scene

    No Time To Die:
    SFG
    GES2

    Both used as "hero cars"

    2 gadget car mockups
    2 "pod cars"
    4 "stunt cars", mady to look like DB5's with fibreglass bodies over BMW engine/chassis'.

    gadget cars:

    DP/216/1, BMT 216A
    "Trick car"

    DB5/1486/R, FMP 7B
    "Beauty car", tricked out after filming for Thunderball wrapped.

    DB5/2008/R
    Never registered, JB 007 plate

    DB5/2017/R
    Never registered, JB 007 plate

    Oh man! I was just thinking how much I'd love to ask Will Lawrence a few questions.
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    Great update in a nutshell, @MartinBond , thanks!
  • Posts: 5,774
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    Thanks, I enjoyed that.
  • quantumspectrequantumspectre argentina
    Posts: 61
    cool
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited August 2022 Posts: 14,861
    Look what I saw today: I had no idea they would be at Brooklands but there they were. And something very surprising: one of the stunt DB5 replicas is up for sale! An estimate of £1.5-£2million!

    FaH52KLWYAEKf8Z?format=jpg&name=large

    FaH52KJXkAAsTHN?format=jpg&name=large

    £500,000-£700,000 for the V8:
    https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6385184

    https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6385180



    But even better: look what else was there! I very much needed my photo with it :D

    FaH5DpnXkAAxhpd?format=jpg&name=large
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    You lucky b*st*rd!
    I love the colour of the DBS.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited August 2022 Posts: 14,861
    Yeah, it was pretty amazing to see it after all these years!

    On the subject of this thread I guess it's vaguely interesting to read about one of those (three) NTTD Aston V8s: according to the sales page it started out life as a red 1981 Aston V8, registration number CGT 955X :)
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Hey, good to see you @mtm. That's a good one for the "Post a picture of yourself" thread. Looking like you're having fun.
  • PropertyOfALadyPropertyOfALady Colders Federation CEO
    Posts: 3,675
    Just came across something that said the Goldfinger car was Snow Shadow Grey as Silver Birch wasn't around yet.
    Now we must admit, we were convinced that the original listing for the car written by the incredibly knowledgeable folks at Broad Arrow Auctions had a mistake in it, claiming the the Bond DB5 was Snow Shadow Grey, not Silver Birch as we all thought we knew. However, we have discovered this incredible piece of movie and automotive trivia thanks to this story, and it’s well and truly blown us away. Notably, the leading film car used in Goldfinger and Thunderball was the prototype DB5, which in reality was a modified DB4 Series V with covered headlamps. Thus, it was painted in the DB4 colour of Snow Shadow Grey. Only when the DB5 went into production after filming did the colour of Silver Birch become available, which has been erroneously labelled as the Bond colour ever since!

    https://www.classicdriver.com/en/article/auctions/you-must-be-joking-its-sean-connerys-actual-aston-martin-db5
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    How funny; I was reading this thread only yesterday, and back it comes. Yes, I had heard that Silver Birch wasn’t technically the right colour.
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    edited August 2023 Posts: 4,311
    To keep things up-to-date, a TND stunt-car Aston Martin V8 (chassis nr. V8/10596/R) with full gadgets is/was up for auction at RM Sotheby's in August 2023.

    Some highlights regarding the car, from the Sotheby's website:
    • Used in the filming of the 1987 James Bond movie The Living Daylights
    • Equipped with ‘Q Branch’ gadgets, including outrigger skis and rocket booster
    • One of four examples used in filming, the other three firmly in long term collections
    • Formerly part of the EON Productions and Peter Nelson collections

    Four real Aston Martins and seven prop fiberglass shells are understood to have been used in the filming of The Living Daylights. The car presently offered, internally known at EON Productions as Car Number 10, is one of those four road cars.

    Completed by Aston Martin on 27 October 1973, according to the British Motor Industry Heritage Trust certificate on file, this car was dispatched to dealer Plough Motors, Ltd. on 31 August the following year. A right-hand drive UK-market car, it was finished in Tudor Green metallic and equipped with fuel injection and an automatic gearbox.

    Once acquired by EON Productions in 1986, it was modified to appear as the newer model with updated rear bodywork in fiberglass, a carburetor-specification hood, updated wheels, and a new color combination. For continuity reasons, a simulated sunroof was added to the roof to match the other cars. The updated tail portion of the car included a simulated rocket booster, and removable skis were attached to the sills of the car. A roll cage was installed to ensure the safety of the crew during filming, along with thick steel skid plates underneath.

    Destined to be driven downhill and into snowbank at the conclusion of the film’s thrilling chase scene, the engine and transmission were removed to lighten the car for the stunt. A faded shipping label still present on one of the car’s windows further confirmed that it was EON Productions’ Car Number 10.

    When filming concluded, the car remained in movie used condition and was retained by EON Productions until 1995. As documented by a letter from October 1995 on file, it was sold along with the DB5 from Goldeneye to well-known James Bond collector Peter Nelson of Keswick, England. Nelson had a special relationship with EON Productions, regularly purchasing vehicles and memorabilia from the company once filming of each Bond movie was complete to display in his Cars of the Stars Motor Museum. Of the four movie-used V8 Saloons from The Living Daylights, EON Productions retained ownership of one and sold the other three to Nelson.

    After nine years as part of his collection, Peter Nelson sold this Aston Martin V8 to an American enthusiast who kept it on static display in his collection until 2021. Nelson sold his entire collection a few years later to another American enthusiast, who still owns the other two Aston Martins from The Living Daylights; they remain in his museum collection.

    The current owner of V8/10596/RCA wished to finally bring the car back to the road. A carbureted V540 V-8 (with Vantage-specification upgrades), along with a proper ZF five-speed manual, were sourced and finally reinstalled 35 years after the original items had been removed for the movie stunt. Underside corrosion was repaired as necessary, the front was repainted, and all mechanical systems serviced and overhauled. A removable center console with dummy switches for the gadgets and a self-destruct button was made by the former owner for display use, and this remains with the car. During the extensive recommissioning, the dummy rear rocket booster was also modified to shoot real flames so the next owner can properly live the James Bond experience. With easily installable skis from the Q Branch and the aforementioned rocket booster, The Living Daylights V8 is sure to be a showstopper anywhere it is seen.

    With one of the four The Living Daylightsfilm cars retained by EON Productions, and two sequestered in a large private collection, this Aston Martin V8 presents an all-but-unrepeatable opportunity to acquire a genuine James Bond Aston Martin complete with Q gadgets. It would be the ideal car for its next owner to bring to The Ice St. Moritz, once again returning the car to the frozen environment for which it was built.

    c200a6092327c20e47eb2a98323556c80b19398a.jpg

    0a65cb728a55278f867c173bff4b7231bcc809e9.jpg

    697b1c87efe23f3411227f9559267e5a9e357b85.jpg
    9dc1348c30396c5bb02955997c96173073149b9b.jpg


  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    That's wonderful, thank you. I wonder why it's riding so high.
    And they put a Vantage engine in it, that's superb.
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    I was just looking again, and this photo is extremely cool. I think one problem you get when you buy it though is, looking at the photo, they replaced the rear end with a fibreglass one to match the later model, and that means you don't get an opening bootlid by the looks of it! :)

    1206db856cf8e4e828799ca40729a0cd9120252c.jpg
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    And so the only TLD Aston Martin V8's currenty not in a permanent collection goes to a bidder in the room for...

    035rpTf.jpg

    Bidding starts at 3:22.30:





  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    Posts: 14,861
    A bargain compared to the Ferrari before it! :)
  • mtmmtm United Kingdom
    edited October 2023 Posts: 14,861
    Here's a fun car up for sale very soon, Aston Martin V12 Vanquish chassis number ending in #007, owned by the chairman of Aston Martin at the time, and the car used in the press launch for Die Another Day- so technically a Bond car, sort of :)

    https://www.iconicauctioneers.com/2001-aston-martin-v12-vanquish-rec13027-1-nec-1123?pn=2&el=21898&pp=100

    F9HllD6WMAAduWF?format=jpg&name=medium

    31b808_ba51baa4b6bf41e3ac83aa7f969ddb83~mv2.jpg

    (Yeah I'm not sure why the numberplate is different either!)
  • 007InAction007InAction Australia
    Posts: 2,342
    That Vanquish looks stunning. The best looking Aston imo.
    The design is flawless.
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    Posts: 17,729
    It's got a nice low mileage too which is good for a car from 2001!
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    The Bond AM V12 Vanquish Auction starts Nov 11, let's see how much it fetches.
  • zebrafishzebrafish <°)))< in Octopussy's garden in the shade
    Posts: 4,311
    How disappointing: Sold for an undisclosed sum. To an undisclosed bidder.
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