Live and let drive! Bond fans snap up

Aston Martin’s new £3.3m replica Goldfinger DB5

All 25 of the replicas have been sold. Aston Martin is creating a further three, one of which will be auctioned for charity. The remaining two will be kept by Aston Martin and EON Productions

Aston Martin is creating a replica of one of its most iconic cars for James Bond fans, though the replica DB5s will not be road legal and will have a price tag of £3.3 million.  On the surface, the cars will look exactly like those driven by Sean Connery in 1964’s Goldfinger. The interior copies the film car, with a range of buttons and gadgets, although the ejector seat and nail spreader have been disabled. 

Also, the machine guns are also only for show, although they will light up and make noise. All of the gadgets can be controlled from inside the cabin or by remote control. 

Aston Martin are building 25 of the special editions in their factory in Newport Pagnell. 
All 25 of the special cars has already been sold and should be delivered to their owners later this year. However, at £3.3million, the car is cheaper than one of the original models used in the 1964 movie. Last year, an original car used in Goldfinger sold for a record £5.3million. 

Aston Martin has been working in collaboration with the EON Productions to develop the car. 
The DB5 was an upgraded version of the previous DB4. It was unveiled at the 1963 Earls Court Motor Show to wide acclaim. The addition of a four-litre straight six engine with three SU carburetors increased power by 42 bhp. 
Chris Corbould, the Oscar-winning special effects supervisor for the James Bond movies, is responsible for creating the gadgets onboard the cars. These include the famous revolving number plates and self defence mechanisms. 

The new cars will look identical to the original version, with many of the special features such as revolving number plates, smoke screen and even replica machine guns

The DB5 has appeared in seven James Bond films. Sean Connery was reunited with the car in Thunderball in 1965. Pierce Brosnan drove the iconic car in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies. Daniel Craig has used it in Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre.

All of the 25 cars will be produced to one specification and have Silver Birch paint.   Outgoing CEO of Aston Martin Andy Palmer said: ‘The connection between Aston Martin and James Bond is something of which we are 
very proud and it is remarkable that the DB5 remains the definitive James Bond car after so many years. 
‘To own an Aston Martin has long been an aspiration for James Bond fans, but to own a Silver Birch DB5, complete with gadgets and built to the highest standards in the very same factory as the original James Bond cars?  Well, that is surely the ultimate collectors’ fantasy. The skilled craftspeople at Aston Martin Works and the expert special effects team from the James Bond films are about to make this fantasy real for 25 very lucky customers.’ 

‘The connection between Aston Martin and James Bond is something of which we are very proud and it is remarkable that the DB5 remains the definitive James Bond car'

Three further cars will be created, one of which will be kept by Aston Martin, the second will go to EON Productions while the third and final car will be auctioned for charity. 

Paul Spires, head of Aston Martin Works told the New York Times: ‘Aston Martin is fastidious about authenticity. And we have gone to very considerable lengths to ensure the equipment in the Continuation cars is as faithful to that seen in the film 

Aston Martin is creating 25 new DB5s based on their iconic car first used by James Bond in the film Goldfinger in 1964

as possible. ‘Aston Martin has sourced the cockpit instrumentation from the modern successor to the same supplier who made the original instruments in the 1960s. They appear, essentially, identical.’

Daily Mail