You’d probably need to raid the gold depository at Fort Knox to afford these five very special 007 cars with a combined value of £16.5million.
Laden with gadgets and belching smoke, the collection of £3.3million-a-piece Aston Martin Goldfinger DB5 continuation models has been photographed for the first – and probably only – time together, just in time for Christmas as first customers prepare to take delivery.
These are the first five on a limited run of 25 reborn Goldfinger DB5s being hand-built for customers at the firm’s Newport Pagnell factory in Buckinghamshire – and none of them will be legal to drive on the road.
The exclusive continuation cars have all been kitted out with gadgets including: battering rams on the front and back; machine guns; a bullet resistant shield; revolving number plates; a smoke machine and a water-propelling oil slick.
Tyre shredders will have to be screwed on to complete the look and, although there’s a removable roof panel, there is – disappointingly – no working ejector seat.
A £16.5million haul of Bond legends: These are the first five of 25 Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars to be completed, each worth a staggering £3.3million
Inside the car a radar screen uses the original beeping sound from Goldfinger – when the car was first driven by Sean Connery.
A telephone is built-in to the driver’s door and a dashboard of buttons control the various gadgets. Drivers can then flip up the gear knob to reveal a shiny red button which activates the relevant piece of kit.
The continuation production cars even come with a remote control, so the various special effects can be activated from afar.
There’s one car to mark each of the 25 James Bond films so far created with the delayed arrival of ‘No Time To Die’ in 2021, postponed from this year because of the Covid pandemic.
Laden with gadgets and belching smoke, the collection of classic models have been photographed for the first – and probably only – time together, just in time for Christmas as first customers prepare to take delivery
The machines are due to be shipped to their lucky owners worldwide, including customers in the US, Europe and the Middle East in the coming weeks
Among the full quota of gadgets is the machine guns that appear from out behind the indicator lights. These are, of course, fake and do not fire bullets
All the control switches for the gadgets are inside the car, some of them in this secret panel. Owners will also get a remote fob to control them from outside the car
The initial fifth of the total DB5 Goldfinger production – which is almost sold out – has been snapped together, possibly for the only time in the iconic cars’ history.
The machines are due to be shipped to their lucky owners worldwide, including customers in the US, Europe and the Middle East in the coming weeks.
Aston Martin will produce a car to mark each of the 25 James Bond films so far created with the delayed arrival of ‘ No Time To Die ’ in 2021, postponed from this year because of the Covid pandemic
Aston Martin, in association with 007 filmmakers EON Productions, began work on the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars last year, under the watchful eye of former boss, Andy Palmer
The full array of gadgets – including the famed revolving number plates – have been developed with the help of Bond film special effects guru Chris Corbould OBE
Aston Martin said: ‘To celebrate the successful creation of the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation series, we took on the challenge of one of the most ambitious photo shoots we have conducted in recent times with no fewer than five of the cars together – perhaps for the only time in their history.’
Aston Martin, in association with 007 filmmakers EON Productions, began work on the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars in 2019.
James Bond film special effects guru Chris Corbould OBE helped develop the car’s gadgets, while scores of Aston Martin engineers and designers worked tirelessly to package them efficiently and elegantly into the timeless DB5 silhouette.
Aston Martin said the likelihood of gathering so many of the highly sought-after models together once they have been all been handed over next year is ‘remote’
The front numberplate has the same swiveling system. This would be ideal for evading speed cameras at home and abroad – if the DB5 Goldfinger continuation cars were road legal, which they aren’t
Trailers for the new ‘No Time to Die’ Bond film show another DB5 with machine guns featuring in the film – though in the latest movie they appear from behind the headlights rather than the indicators
Aston Martin added: ‘Not only is it the first new example of a DB5 built since the last saloon rolled of the production line at Newport Pagnell back in 1965, these Continuation cars also include an array of working gadgets from the Bond car so famously seen for the first time in the Goldfinger film.
‘As the cars are steadily being delivered to customers worldwide, the likelihood of gathering so many of the highly sought-after models together once they have been all been handed over next year is remote so, to celebrate their creation and with the enthusiastic support and encouragement of the cars’ fortunate owners, no fewer than five examples of ‘the most famous car in the world’ have been pulled together for the ambitious shoot.’
Each car takes 4,500 hours to hand-build and fit the full quota of cool gadgets, as well as paint in the original Silver Birch paint
We were lucky enough to drive the first wonderfully reborn continuation DB5 earlier in the year, taking it on a 60-mile spin around the lanes
Crammed into the cabin, Ray Massey said he wondered how taller, longer-legged Connery coped? The dashboard resembles the cockpit of a fighter plane – but with extra gadgets to play with
Fewer than 900 original DB5 saloons were built between 1963 and 1965 priced from £4,175.
The original DB5 made its big screen debut alongside the late Sir Sean Connery as superspy James Bond in the movie Goldfinger, subsequently appearing in six more 007 outings: Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, Skyfall and Spectre.
The 25 Aston Martins are not movie or stunt cars, nor are they replicas. Instead, they are genuine continuation production cars of the DB5 – reborn from where it left off some 55 years
A telephone is built-in to the driver’s door and a dashboard of buttons control the various gadgets. Drivers can then flip up the gear knob to reveal a shiny red button which activates the relevant gadget
The rotating numberplates can also be activated using a switch inside. They are on a Toblerone-style mechanism so you can display the iconic ‘BMT 216A’ registration as well as ‘AML 1’ and ‘4711-EA-62’ for when you’re driving overseas
These are not replicas but fully functioning continuation cars being hand-built by Aston Martin at the same Newport Pagnell factory where the original was built.
Each car takes 4,500 hours to hand-build in the original Silver Birch paint and has the added twist of the MI6 Q-Branch Goldfinger gadgets specially recreated by Aston Martin engineers and Mr Corbould.
‘The result is a car that is not only befitting of its 007 associations but one which also pays appropriate homage to the model that remains, arguably, the most famous and recognised Aston Martin of all time,’ the British marque added.
Will it fit in my garage? Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation Car
While you can rocket ahead with a speed that surprises drivers of even the sportiest of modern cars, Special Agent Massey says you have to plan your braking well in advance
Price: £3.3million each
Limited customer run: 25
Price new in 1964: £4,175
Length: 4570mm
Width: 1676mm
Height: 1320mm
Engine: 4.0-litre DOHC naturally aspirated inline 6-cylinder
Power: 290bhp
Gears: five-speed manual
0-60mph: 7.1 seconds
Top speed: 148mph.
Time to build each car: 4,500 hours
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