What's the news?
Aston Martin has revealed a life-sized replica of the famous Corgi model DB5 from the 1964 James Bond film Goldfinger. The reveal comes ahead of the UK release of the latest Bond film, No Time To Die on September 30.
The upcoming film features four Aston Martins - a DB5, V8, DBS and Valhalla hypercar - and the reveal took place alongside a screening of Aston Martin's No Time To Die TV spot.
Is that small or far away?
The "model" is contained in a full-sized replica of a Corgi box with the featured vehicle being one of the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars.
The display at Battersea Power Station in London was unveiled by Aston Martin's Executive Vice-President and Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, who was joined by Chris Corbould, the Special Effects Co-Ordinator on the last 14 Bond films, also involved in developing the gadgets on the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation cars.
Remind me, what is this Continuation DB5 all about?
The Goldfinger Continuation DB5 is part of a series of 25 cars, newly-built DB5s in Silver Birch, produced by Aston Martin Works, the company's heritage division. The continuation cars feature a whole raft of gadgets as seen in the film like rotating number plates, a retractable bullet-proof rear shield, extending front overriders and the pop-out Browning machine guns. For obvious reasons, the guns can't actually fire .303 bullets like you see Bond's car doing in the film; nor do the cars feature the famous ejector seat, though they do get a removable roof panel. The Goldfinger Continuation DB5s are not technically road-legal either. Health and Safety strikes again, eh?
According to Reichman: "We are really honoured to be marking the start of the No Time To Die campaign today with this exciting unveil. Aston Martin's relationship with James Bond spans decades and the DB5 is, without question, the most famous car in the world by virtue of its 50-plus year association. Working with EON Productions and Chris Corbould to build 25 of the DB5 Goldfinger Continuations was a truly unique project for everyone involved at Aston Martin. Now, to work with Corgi - another quintessential British brand - and to see James Bond's most cherished car sitting inside a to-scale toy box in central London is quite outstanding."
So there's a real toy Corgi Aston too?
The die-cast Corgi model has proven remarkably popular over the years, with over 20 million sold, and has remained in production ever since its launch in 1965. Original 1965-run models in mint condition can fetch up to £500 or so.
The display will be available for the public to view at Battersea Power Station until October 1.
David Mullen - 31 Aug 2021