Aston Martin's first $3.5M DB5 Goldfinger Continuation rolls off the line
The first car in its run of 25 took about 4,500 hours to complete.
Buying scale Lego models is cool and all, but if you had the chance to drop a chunk of change on an honest-to-goodness recreation of James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger, you'd probably take it. Such is the case with 25 very lucky ducks, as the automaker decided to revive a legend of film, and the first of these recreations has just now left the factory.
Aston Martin announced on Monday that the first DB5 Goldfinger Continuation model has rolled off the line at the Aston Martin Works facility in Newport Pagnell, England. "Job 1," as the automaker refers to it, took approximately 4,500 hours to complete, in conjunction with Eon Productions, which makes the Bond movies.
The steel chassis is authentic, the aluminum body panels are recreated to their original specs and a proper carbureted 4.0-liter inline-6 under the hood generates 290 horsepower. A five-speed manual is the sole cog-swapper on offer, and a mechanical limited-slip differential hangs out on the rear axle to keep things from getting too hairy. The steering system lacks power assistance, but disc brakes are included, so there's a good mix of old and new tech in here. It's worth noting, though, that these vehicles are not at all road legal, because good luck trying to adapt a 1960s Aston Martin to modern crash-test specifications.
The amount of work that goes into the recreation is stunning, but what really sets it apart is the panoply of movie-universe gadgets tucked away in there. A smoke-screen emitter is installed, in addition to a (fake) oil-slick delivery system. The front machine guns are there, albeit nonfunctional (for good reason), as well as battering rams, fake tire slashers and even a removable passenger seat roof panel (ejector seat not included).
The interior is plenty Bond-ified, too, thanks to a fake radar map, a telephone in the door, hidden weapons trays and remote controls that activate the gadgets from afar. None of them are truly nefarious doodads, but they will undoubtedly impress anyone who comes by to check out the car.
Then again, the car had damn well better be impressive for what it costs. Aston Martin is charging each of its 25 buyers about $3.5 million for the pleasure of having a DB5 Goldfinger Continuation. This isn't the first time the automaker has brought an old car back from the dead, either; Aston Martin also rolled out a DB4 GT Continuation, which lacks the Bond gadgets but is definitely still a blast from the past. Thankfully, if you can't afford the real deal, Lego makes a much more affordable version.
