The 1964 hit “Goldfinger” is considered by most to be the best James Bond film ever made, and what endeared the movie into the hearts of car enthusiasts was Bond’s tricked-out Aston Martin DB5. While in the novels he drives a Bentley Mark VI, the silver Aston is what most associate as his car.
Today, original DB5s used for filming in the early Bond films fetch well into the millions at auction. The most recent sale took place last August, with the winning bid coming in at close to $6.4 million.
To capitalize on the demand for James Bond-spec DB5s, Aston Martin a couple of years back announced plans to build 28 continuation examples of the DB5 built to the same spec as the car featured in “Goldfinger.” Known as the DB5 “Goldfinger” continuation cars, deliveries have now started and will continue through the second half of the year.
The cars are built at Aston Martin’s former plant in Newport Pagnell, which today serves as the automaker’s classics center. The former plant is where Aston Martin built the original run of 898 DB5s, and some of the same techniques used for those cars, like hammering and rolling of body panels, are being used for the modern examples. Each car takes about 4,500 hours to build.
Under the pretty sheetmetal is a mild-steel chassis with a solid rear axle with radius arms and Watt’s linkage, just like in the original DB5. Also common with the original DB5 is the powerplant, in this case a 4.0-liter inline-6 with a six-plug head and trio of SU carburettors. The inline-6 develops 290 horsepower and spins the rear wheels via a 5-speed manual transmission and mechanical limited-slip differential.
For authenticity, Aston Martin worked closely with EON Productions, the production company behind the James Bond movie franchise, as well as Oscar-winning special effects honcho Chris Corbould, who’s been involved with 14 of the movies, to develop Bond’s famous spy gadgets.
Aston Martin’s DB5 has featured extensively in various James Bond films
Just some of them include a revolving license plate, rear smoke screen, oil slick delivery system, and machine guns in action. Naturally, some of the gadgets, like the guns, are simulated only. Other gadgets include a bullet resistant rear shield, battering rams front and rear, a radar screen (simulated), and an under-seat weapons storage tray.
As mentioned, just 28 will be built. Aston Martin charged a price of price of 2.75 million British pounds (approximately $3.44 million) for each of the first 25 examples. A further two examples are being retained by Aston Martin and EON Productions for their respective collections and the final car is set to be auctioned off for charity.
We should point out that owners won’t be able to drive the cars on the street as they haven’t undergone certification. We’re also pretty sure authorities won’t be too pleased with the rotating license plate.
