Brand new Bond
Many of the UK’s most talented craftspeople and engineers have put the finishing touches to the first in a new but very familiar series of Aston Martin sports cars, as the first customer car in the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation programme left the production line last week.
The ‘Job 1’, which is the codename for the first of this special series, represents the first new DB5 to be built by Aston Martin in more than half a century. Dubbed ‘the most famous car in the world’ and renowned as being among the most desirable and sought-after classic Aston Martin models, the DB5 has become a byword for timeless style and sports car desirability. Fewer than 900 examples were built between 1963 and 1965, with by far the most famous of the original owners being the world’s best-known secret agent – James Bond – who first drove the car in the 1964 film, Goldfinger.
Now, 55 years after the last new DB5 rolled off the production line at Aston Martin’s then manufacturing base in Newport Pagnell, Buckinghamshire, work is ongoing there on a strictly limited number of new DB5 models.
Created in association with Bond filmmaker EON Productions, and featuring a broad suite of working gadgets first seen in the film, the Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars really are history in the making. The new cars include an array of functioning devices created by Bond film special effects supervisor Chris Corbould.
The list of Bond-inspired gadgets includes: a rear smoke screen, oil slick system, revolving number plates, machine gun, bullet proof rear shield, battering rams, tyre slasher and a removable passenger seat roof panel as an option – inspired yb the original ejector seat. And that’s just the exterior, inside there’s a simulated radar screen tracker map, telephone, gear knob actuator button, armrest and centre console-mounted switchgear, under-seat hidden weapons/storage tray and remote control for gadget activation. Phew!
Each of the 25 new cars are meticulously detailed authentic reproductions of the DB5 seen on screen, with some sympathetic modifications and enhancements to ensure the highest levels of build quality and reliability. All the special edition cars are being finished in Silver Birch paint – just like the original.
The cars feature original DB5 styled aluminium exterior body panels cloaking an authentic DB5 mild steel chassis structure. Under the bonnet there’s a 4.0-litre naturally aspirated inline six-cylinder engine that’s capable of generating around 290 bhp. This is mated to a five-speed manual transmission.
Photos © Aston Martin