Guide: Aston Martin V8 'The Living Daylights'

Oct 2

Oct 2 Guide: Aston Martin V8 'The Living Daylights'

Aston Martin - Aston Martin V8 - 1980s Supercars - 1980s British Cars - TV & Movie Cars - James Bond

The Living Daylights

The Living Daylights was the 15th film in the James Bond franchise and the first to star Timothy Dalton as Roger Moore’s replacement. Unlike Moore’s light-hearted style, Dalton successfully recaptured the more serious essence of the original Ian Fleming books.

This latest plot centred on Bond helping a KGB General, Georgi Koskow (Jeroen Krabbe), defect from the Soviet Union. Koskov escaped from a concert hall in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, and was smuggled back to Britain where he informed MI6 that the KGB’s new boss, Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) had revived the old policy of “Smiert Spionam” or “Death to Spies”.

Koskov was then abducted from the safe house where he was being held and the Brits assumed he had been taken back to Moscow.

Bond was ordered to track down and kill the new head of KGB. However, on his return to Bratislava, 007 discovered that the entire defection was staged. Having met with Pushkin, it became apparent Koskov had double-crossed them both and used KGB funds for arms trading and heroin smuggling.

In The Spy Who Loved Me and For Your Eyes Only, James Bond had famously used specially equipped Lotus Esprits. For this latest movie though, the producers decided on a return to Aston Martin. They did so safe in the knowledge that the DB5 used in Goldfinger and Thunderball was still considered the most iconic of all 007 vehicles.

By this time, Aston Martin were offering their V580 iterations of the V8 Saloon, V8 Volante and V8 Vantage. The V580 had been introduced in March 1980 and subsequently updated in September 1983, at which point BBS wheels and a number of other upgrades were brought in.

All three variants were based on a steel platform chassis with independent double wishbone suspension at the front and a De Dion rear axle with parallel trailing arms and a Watts linkage. In the engine bay was an all-alloy 5340cc 90° V8 that produced between 310bhp and 375bhp. Disc brakes were fitted all round along with coil sprung shocks and a front anti-roll bar.

The decision to go with Aston Martin was made late, which led to a problem obtaining vehicles because at the time there was an 18 month waiting list for new cars. As a consequence, four second-hand V8 Saloons were purchased from the used market as they became available.

The first example to be acquired had been equipped with a Webasto-style canvas sunroof. As this was considered beneficial for the lighting of interior shots, the others were similarly modified. All four cars were sent to Aston Martin where they were resprayed and refurbished to match the colour scheme of Victor Gauntlett’s Cumberland Grey over Black Vantage-engined V8 Volante which would be used early on in the film.

Car Number 1 was used for close up scenes and those with Dalton driving, Number 2 and Number 10 were stunt cars and Number 3 was the special effects car.

In addition to these four fully functional V8s, seven fibreglass mock ups were created at Pinewood Studios.

Q-branch Modifications

In typical fashion, 007’s Aston was enhanced with a variety of modifications by Eon Productions’ special effects team.

Heat-seeking missiles were fitted behind a pair of retractable front fog lights. They were armed by a button concealed in the centre arm rest. The firing angle could be adjusted by a switch on the air vent that worked in conjunction with a head-up display projected onto the windscreen. The missiles were fired by a switch disguised as a cigarette lighter.

A jet-powered rocket booster was concealed behind the rear number plate which retracted upwards into the body of the car.

Other equipment included lasers hidden in the front wheel centre caps, retractable spiked tyres powered by compressed air and ski-type outriggers which could be deployed from the side sills.

The modified Philips audio head unit had a radio scanner that enabled 007 to eavesdrop on civilian, police and military frequencies. The chassis, body and glass were reinforced to withstand firearm damage. A self destruct switch was located under the centre armrest.

On Screen

A V8 was first seen in The Living Daylights when Bond arrived in his Volante at Blaydon House (actually Stonor Park in Henley-on-Thames) where Georgi Koskov was being debriefed following his defection.

A short time later, the same car was depicted at Q-branch where it was supposedly being ‘winterised’ with a hard top ahead of its departure to Czechoslovakia. Bond asks if he can take it for a test drive and the Aston is next seen in Bratislava (where it has become a V8 Saloon).

The action picks up when Bond tries to smuggle Koskov’s girlfriend, Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo), across the border to Austria.

He initially scans the police band radio to find officers are being instructed to apprehend a foreign registered car. A short time later, the Aston is pursued by a police Lada. Bond uses his wheel lasers to cut the car in two.

Next, the heat-seeking missiles are fired to blow through a road block.

The chase continues amid a hail of gunfire, after which Bond detours off a snowy side road to avoid a border tank. He is forced to head for a frozen lake where the outrigger skis are deployed when one of his tyres is blown off.

The only possible escape was to use the rocket booster to fire the car up a ramp, after which it heads down a mountain side into a snow bank. Bond sets the self destruct charge and departs using Milovy’s chello case as a sled. Together they cross the border into Austria.

The Living Daylights Release

The Living Daylights was produced on a budget of $40m. It premiered at the Leicester Square in London on June 29th 1987 and set a three-day opening record for a Bond film on its way to grossing $191.2m at the worldwide box office.