Prepare yourself. For some readers this may sound like a dream come true. Aston Martin has announced that they will be building 25 examples of their most famous ever model, the DB5. They will be called ‘Goldfinger DB5 continuation editions’ and they will come as seen on the big screen, with working gadgets straight from the James Bond movies.
You can expect these DB5 models to drive even better than the original examples did, as there have been ‘sympathetic’ mechanical modifications which will improve the reliability and strength of the DB5 will also ensuring an impeccably high level of build quality.
Interestingly, all 25 models will be built at the Aston Martin Works plant in Newport Pagnell, which is the same facility the original DB5 was built in over 50 years ago.
The DB5 was launched way back in 1964 and it first featured in James Bond: Goldfinger that same year. Since then, the DB5 has been lauded as the most iconic Aston Martin to date and it’s up there as, arguably, one of the best looking cars ever built. The DB5 went on to feature in Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre following its debut in Goldfinger, and throughout these films it appeared with a number of different weapons and gadgets.
The new DB5 models will also feature the same modifications to keep them authentic, so you can expect fully functioning gadgets such as smoke screens, oil slick, and guns in the bonnet. These gadgets will be developed with a helping hand from Oscar-winner Chris Corbould OBE, who has worked as a special effects supervisor on countless James Bond films over the years.
Andy Palmer, President and Chief Executive Officer, Aston Martin, said: “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.”
So, let’s talk numbers. Each Goldfinger continuation model will cost £2.75 million before taxes. That’s extremely steep, especially when you consider the fact you can’t even choose which colour paintwork you would like. All 25 models will be produced to a single specification with the Silver Birch paint job that Mr Bond himself used to have.
The first deliveries will begin at some point in 2020.