To me, the man under the 007 suit and tie is irrelevant. Whether you’re a Pierce Brosnan, Daniel Craig, Sean Connery, Roger More or Timothy Dalton fan, the appeal is all in the wheels.
From Rolls-Royce to Jaguar, James Bond has torn up the tarmac in some of the most impressive cars ever seen on the silver screen. But it’s British carmaker Aston Martin that shares the closest bond with Bond.
The latest instalment, Spectre, recently premiered in London.
VIP guests will gather to see the broody Daniel Craig simultaneously seduce beautiful women and effortlessly save the world, all while showing off his driving prowess behind the wheel of the specially built Aston Martin DB10.
To celebrate their half-a-century long history with the movie franchise, Aston Martin has released a special edition DB9 GT Bond Edition.
Only 150 will be made available worldwide, and just five have been slated for Australia.
One of those will be on show at the Australian Premiere.
Priced at $435,007 before on-road costs, the DB9 GT Bond Edition comes loaded with a 6.0-litre V12 engine with Spectre Silver paint, Aston Martin badges take pride of place on the front and rear, with discreet 007 Bond Edition badges also adorning the grand tourer.
For those of you whose eyes glazed over during all that tech talk – basically it looks spectacular, is luxurious, sounds amazing and goes like hell.
I was lucky enough to get behind the wheel of the Aston Martin Vanquish Volante last year and can vouch for just how impressively powerful yet refined these cars are.
Other elegant features include gloss black diamond turned 20-inch alloy wheels, carbon fibre front splitter and rear diffuser and aluminium bonnet vents.
Inside the glamour continues, with leather seats, Alcantara-wrapped steering wheel and satin carbon fibre on the centre console.
The five lucky (and loaded) Australians with one of the Limited Editions in their garage will also receive a few extras.
A Globe-Trotter trolley case with an embossed leather luggage tag – very useful when you’re travelling the world 007 style – and an Omega Seamaster Aqua Terra 150m James Bond Limited Edition watch – perfect for those times you’re in the water, sneakily approaching the super yacht to launch a surprise attack on a villain.
The debut of the Bond Edition comes as Aston Martin gave CarAdvice a look at the new DB10 in the United Kingdom this week.
The DB10 is the car featured in the new 007 film – which happens to be the 24th of the franchise – and though 10 were made for the film, don’t expect any of them to be offered up for sale.
