When James Bond saves the world again at the end of the year in "No Time to Die", he's in an Aston Martin - of course. The brand from England owes a lot to the agent. Especially a model.
Berlin (dpa / tmn) - car chases, wild brawls, gunfights - and right in the middle of it a man who can't do anything about it: Bond. James Bond. When the secret agent with the license to kill (007) is on a mission, special vehicles have accompanied him for over 50 years. Most of them are models from the British manufacturer Aston Martin.
For Siegfried Tesche, the Aston Martin DB5 is one of the most famous 007 cars - "even if it cannot keep up with modern vehicles in terms of performance and equipment." The bond expert is the author of several bond books.
James Bond started in the Bentley
"The fact that the DB5 became a bond car is a coincidence," explains Tesche. Until Ian Fleming's novel "Goldfinger", published in 1959, the secret agent mostly drives a Bentley. For the visit to Goldfinger, Bond will be offered an Aston Martin DB Mark III and a Jaguar 3.4. The agent chooses the Aston Martin because it has useful extras: stronger bumpers, a revolver under the driver's seat and a receiver.
When planning the film, which appeared in 1964, the producers decided that James Bond should be traveling in a sportier vehicle. "Co-producer Harry Saltzman therefore visited Aston Martin in autumn 1963 to talk about a cooperation," says Tesche. The automaker didn't immediately recognize the marketing opportunities and only offered Saltzman the successor to the Mark III, the DB5, for sale - for £ 4,500.
The car inspires as a technical castle
Only in further discussions could Saltzman convince the manufacturer to make cars available free of charge. The technology of the vehicles starts with the DB5 in "Goldfinger". "The producers realized that an upgraded car was well received by the public. Since then, the Bond car has served as a sophisticated weapon arsenal, as a defensive castle that can hardly be conquered," explains Tesche. In addition, the Aston Martin is the most personal item that James Bond owns. And he's fighting for it.
In the past, however, there have always been films in which James Bond was in other vehicles, such as "You only live twice" in a Toyota 2000 GT or in the three episodes sponsored by BMW, "Golden Eye", "Tomorrow is Dying." never "and" the world is not enough ".
The Aston Martin DB5 becomes Bond's private car
But no manufacturer is as naturally assigned to the film character James Bond as the island brand. "Actors Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel Craig were introduced to the film with an Aston Martin. Every viewer knows that only Bond drives an Aston in the film," says Tesche. In the newer parts of the series, the historic DB5 from the 1960s James Bond no longer serves as a company car, but as a private car.
The DB5 is also the best-known bond vehicle for Andreas Pott from James Bond Club Germany. "Because it is the first vehicle with the special equipment that is so famous today and it sets standards," he explains. "In addition, the Lotus Esprit from" The Spy Who Loved Me "from 1977 is famous because it was the first car that turned into a submarine."
A duck on the wrong track
Less sensational, but valued by Bond fans for the unusualness: Citroen's 2CV, the duck that played a "secondary role" in 1981. "Bond doesn't drive himself, but it's an extraordinary car for a car chase in a Bond movie," says Pott.
Wolfgang Bahlmann, President of the Aston Martin Owners Club Germany, watches every James Bond film, but would not describe himself as a proven follower of the agent series. "I like the vehicles, the new and the historic DB5. It is now a cult," he says.
Four Aston Martins for the latest Bond
The model has been used again and again since "Goldfinger", most recently it exploded in "Skyfall". "Of course this hurts an Aston Martin fan," says Bahlmann. The non-Aston Martin fan only knows the DB5 and connects the model with James Bond, which is actually a shame. "Anyone who is familiar with the brand can think of other models, even if they do not have a strong connection to 007," says. He particularly likes the DBS with which George Lazenby was on the road in 1969 "On Her Majesty's Secret Service".
Four vehicles will be used in "No Time to Die", the next bond that is due to start in November 2020: the DBS Superleggera with the same license plate as in "The Touch of Death", the 1000 PS super sports car Valhalla, a current V8 Vantage and of course the DB5. The movie car is one of ten specially made replicas, but that is not apparent to the layperson. In the end, the only thing that counts: James Bond drives Aston Martin and saves the world.
