One to Buy: 16 mile 2020 Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Edition
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As Britain’s best high performance Coupe, the ultra exclusive Aston Martin DB5 was familiar to anyone with a passing automotive interest. Mid way through production though, the DB5 became the most famous car in the world when it starred as secret agent James Bond’s highly customised ride in the 007 box office hit Goldfinger.
Not there fleetingly, Bond’s DB5 played a key role in the movie and garnered much attention for its array of special Q-branch gadgets which had been installed by the special effects team at Pinewood Studios.
The long list of special equipment added included concealed Browning machine guns, a retractable bullet-proof shield, telescopic tyre slashing wheel spinners, battering rams, oil and smoke spraying devices, a caltrops nail ejector and revolving licence plates.
Perhaps best remembered was a passenger-side ejector seat that jettisoned part of the roof when a button concealed under the gear knob was activated. Among the other cockpit tweaks were an illuminated radar tracking display screen, a telephone in the driver’s armrest, a centre console-mounted weapons switchboard and an armaments draw under the driver's seat.
In 2020, Aston Martin collaborated with EON Productions to produce 25 copies of the Goldfinger spec. DB5 for a handful of lucky customers. Each car reputedly took over 4000 hours to build which was reflected in the extraordinary £2.75m pre-tax list.
If you missed the chance to buy one of these collector pieces first time round, here’s your chance to pick one up for a potentially massive discount off the original price; on November 7th, Broad Arrow Auctions will be putting the 16 miles from new chassis DB500705R across the block in Zurich.
According to Broad Arrow Auctions: “In homage to the gadgetry supplied by Q Branch, working film-inspired gadgets were co-developed with Oscar winner Chris Corbould, special effects supervisor on the Bond films. These include a simulated rear oil-slick delivery system, simulated twin front machine guns, a simulated tyre slasher, a simulated radar screen tracker map, a gear-knob actuator button, and a telephone in the driver's door.
Other gadgets, however, are genuinely functional: a rear smoke-screen delivery system, revolving front and rear license plates with triple plates, including the iconic BMT 214A, a bullet-resistant rear shield, front and rear battering rams, a hidden weapons and storage tray under the seat, armrest- and centre-console-mounted switchgear, and a remote control to activate the gadgets.”
“Lavishly equipped as standard though they are, one item, fitted to this example, was offered only as an option: the removable roof panel above the passenger seat, a nod to the famous ejector seat. This example offers a rare opportunity to take the wheel of the world's most famous secret agent in one of Britain's most celebrated automobiles, bringing the fantasy of James Bond to life in spectacular fashion.”
