The name is Martin, Aston Martin

By Jason K. Ang October 28,2015

JAMES Bond has sampled French, Americans, Germans, Italians, Russians and Japanese, but his true love will always be British. We’re talking about cars, by the way.

 

In the novels, Bond has favored Bentley. But ever since Sean Connery drove the DB5 after “Goldfinger” in the Swiss Alps, Bond has since been linked to Aston Martin.

 

For the new Bond film “Spectre,” showing in the Philippines in November, Aston Martin is once again providing the British superspy with his set of wheels. That car is the Aston Martin DB10.

 

The new car was especially designed to star in the film, being unveiled at the famed 007 stage at Pinewood Studios, England.

 

The Aston Martin DB10 was designed by the company’s chief creative officer, Marek

 

Reichman, in collaboration with “Spectre” director Sam Mendes.

 

It was built to be the ultimate car for Bond, in a series that has featured quite a lot of performance cars, each with its own special features.

 

These ranged from armor and guns to the ability to instantly switch license plates (useful to avoid number coding and arrest for drunk driving) and even, with the Lotus Esprit, change to a submarine.

 

Those gadget-laden cars have been noticeably toned down in the Daniel Craig-starred films. The Aston Martins, as well as the odd Land Rover, in the Craig films are fast and menacing, but have been subject to being damaged and destroyed just like mortal cars.

 

This is all part and parcel of the new, more realistic portrayal of Bond in the recent films.

 

With “Spectre,” Bond fans are in for some spectacular action, not least in the car chase department. Early “making of” reels have shown the Bond stunt team filming in the snow-covered roads of Austria, and on the historic streets of Rome.

 

The Aston Martin DB10 will be a limited-production car, with only 10 units to be made at the company’s Gaydon headquarters.

 

Aston Martin CEO Dr. Andy Palmer has hinted that the DB10 indicates the future design direction for the brand.

 

Meanwhile, Aston Martin will create a special edition of its DB9 GT to commemorate the tie-up with the film.

 

The DB9 GT Bond Edition will be limited to 150 units, all hand-built in England.

 

The grand touring car features special trim, equipment and accessories to highlight the association with the James Bond series. The cars will be decked out in “Spectre” silver paint, sterling silver Aston Martin badges front and rear, and discreet “007 Bond Edition” badges.

 

The car will have bespoke—make that 10-spoke, gloss black diamond-turned 20-inch alloy wheels, aluminum hood vents, side strakes and grille, carbon-fiber front splitter and rear diffuser, and gray brake calipers.

 

The interior of the DB9 GT Bond Edition will have numbered door sill plates with the 007 logo, gun barrel embroidery on the rear seat divider, and a Bond Edition startup sequence on the touchscreen system.

 

The trim will be fluted leather, Alcantara for the steering wheel, and carbon fiber center console.

 

The DB9 GT Bond Edition will be powered by a 6-liter V12 with 540 HP and 620 Nm. The quad-cam engine will be mated to a six-speed automatic transmission.

 

The car can rocket to 100 kilometers per hour in 4.5 seconds sans rocket, and top speed is 295 kph. The all-independent double-wishbone suspension features normal, sport and track modes to adjust to various scenarios (no submarine mode just yet).

 

Since you can’t show off your very own Bond car everywhere, the DB9 GT Bond Edition also comes with a 21-inch Globe-Trotter trolley case and an Omega (say “Omeega”) Seamaster Aqua Terra 150M James Bond Limited Edition watch.

 

The car is priced at 165,000 pounds, or about P11.8 million, presumably before taxes.

 

While James Bond is reserved for Aston Martin and vice versa, other British brands are also muscling in on the action in “Spectre.”

 

The Jaguar-Land Rover group has the lock on the “villain” cars in the movie. These are the Jaguar C-X75, Range Rover Sport SVR, and the Land Rover Defender.

 

On hand to unveil the cars were Ms Moneypenny, Naomie Harris, and bad guy Hinx, David Bautista.

 

Hinx will chase Bond around the streets of Rome in the Jaguar C-X75 supercar, dubbed the most advanced Jaguar ever created. The car was built by Jaguar Land Rover Special Vehicle Operations (SVO) in collaboration with Williams Advanced Engineering of Formula One fame.

 

The SVO group is not only in the business of producing special cars for films, but also for bespoke commissions and limited collector editions for customers.

 

The Range Rover Sport SVR is the fastest and most powerful Land Rover built. The SVR will star in the action sequence shot in Austria.

 

Meanwhile, the Land Rover Defenders were equipped by SVO with huge 37-inch diameter offroad tires and enhanced body protection for the sequence.

 

“To have the opportunity to be a part of an iconic chase scene in a Bond movie and to drive the C-X75 supercar was like a dream come true for me. It truly is a beautiful beast of a car that will go down in movie history,” Bautista said.

 

On the other hand, Harris said: “I made my Bond debut in the Defender, and I have so many fond memories shooting that sequence in Istanbul. It’s such a special franchise to be a part of, and I’m thrilled to be… with the Jaguar Land Rover team.”

 

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