James Bond’s Aston Martin 1964 DB5
007 has basically been the coolest guy on the planet ever since Sean Connery first portrayed him. Yeah he got a little pansy during the Roger Moore years and not a whole lot improved with Dalton or Brosnan. There was the bizarre David Niven attempt and a couple of other British dudes I won’t mention because you wouldn’t have a clue who they are anyway. But still James Bond managed to be the coolest guy ever. And of course the coolest guy drives the coolest cars. And back in the early days of the James Bond franchise the British car of choice was the Aston Martin DB5. And well, really it still is for the most part. But that 1964 DB5 Connery drove became synonymous with the martini sipping, card playing, ass kicking womanizer. Young kids and kids at heart alike obsessed over that ride since its film debut in Goldfinger. It was marketed as a toy with the flip up rear shield and an ejecting driver and every other gadget that rolling switchblade on wheels was equipped with.
When the second Cars movie came out we were introduced to a British international spy named Finn MacMissile. The car was fictitious, designed by animators. But the character emulated everything about 007. And the design of the car held true to much of the same spirit and presence as the 1964 DB5. It is an iconic car. So iconic that, back in 2010, a very wealthy man named Harry Yeaggy bought the last remaining 007 Aston Martin 1964 DB5 for a whopping $4.6 million. The DB5 has all the original gadgetry still attached like the rotating license plate the ejector seat and the pop up machine guns. Of course the guns aren’t functional, but still. We all have a fantasy about cruising down the highway in Bond’s DB5 and popping those guns out at a car not showing the courtesy to get out of our way. Anyway the guy who bought it originally is named Jerry Lee and he spent a laughable $12,000 at the time. Not a bad investment at all. As a side point he donated all the money to his own Jerry Lee Foundation that researches methods to globally reduce and prevent inner city crime levels. Very appropriate considering the history of the Aston Martin DB5.
And in a move that will surely please Bond lovers and purists alike the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 will be making an appearance once again the coming 2012 Bond installment called Skyfall. This should be exhilarating for nostalgic Bond fans. Production isn’t saying much about the classic DB5’s appearance but we do know it will at least be in the end of the film in a scene that is suggested could be an historic look into 007’s past.
