Bond may have a new Aston Martin but the DB5 can't be beat

[MUSIC] In 2013 Aston Martin celebrated it's 100th anniversary with a present to itself. For every year the company had been in business, one of these was made. The Centenary Edition Vanquish. Now the Vanquish was already at the top of the Aston Martin tree with a 6 liter V-12 engine, putting out 565 break horsepower. But the Centenary Edition, however, dusts the whole car with just that little something special. From sterling silver wings on the badge to an interior with materials lifted from the One-77 Hypercar. All in all, this is pretty much the fullest expression of everything Aston Martin wants to be known as. [NOISE] Now in 1913 when the company started, it wasn't known as Aston Martin. Bamford and Martin, Limited were actually. Resales of cars servicing and they fixed up cars ready for racing. But the pair decided to make the leap and build their own cars. In honor of Lionel's win at the Aston Clinton Hill Climb, the company was given the snappier name of Aston Martin, a name now permanently etched into the brain of everyone who loves cars as one of the quintessentially British sports car manufacturers. The first ever proper Aston Martin car. Had the oh, so sexy moniker of the Coal Scuttle. It had a four cylinder, Coventry simplex engine, fitted to a 1908 Yselta Francinni Chasse. Now if you/ve never heard of that taiga florial winning car. Then you've probably heard of its designer, a certain Italian by the name of Ettore Bugatti. The Core Scuttle would set you back a hefty £850, and get you all the way up to 70 miles an hour. It wasn't a runaway success though. And only a couple were ever sold. World War I pretty much forced Aston Martin to shut up shop for a few years, and not long after the war ended, the pair threw in the towel. Over the next 15 years, the company was repeatedly bought and sold. And there was a period of brief success in the 30s with the Ulster, a car that became one of the most popular race cars of the decade, but by the end of World War II the company wasn't doing well at all. Cue industrialist David Brown. By the late 50s Aston Martin was actually in top form. In 57 it even bagged an outright win at Les Mans. David Brown fancied giving the road cars a bit of a spruce up though. And they brought in Italian design house Carrozzeria Touring Superleggera. Now they went to work on the DB4, the latest car to hold the owner's initials. And they did a stellar job. But it was his follow-up that put it in the shade. A car that will forever be etched as an. Untarnishable page on the history of car greats. Possibly the ultimate expression of everything Aston Martin ever wants to be and every will be. The most famous car in the world, the DB5. [MUSIC] I reason the entire world recognizes this car is of course everything down to do with it's permanent link to Her Majesty's greatest MI-6 agent. But the real reason this car turns heads now just as much as the day it was launched. Is simply the majestic look of the thing. [MUSIC] I've driven cars from the era, and there are other cars that are definitely up there in terms of design. Fine. The E type, the BMW 507, they all have a special place in my heart. This is an absolutely stunning car. But there's just something about the DB5. If it got built today, people would say, it's the best looking car ever built. Under the hood there's a four-liter, six-cylinder engine putting out 282 brake horsepower, with a top speed of 143 miles an hour, and a 0 to 60 time of eight seconds flat. And you know what? None of that matters. Not in the slightest. You could argue whether or not the DB5 gets more recognition than it deserves because of it's cinematic history, and it's a legitimate point of view. But to me, there's a different reason why, to my eyes, and to a lot of other car fans, this awesome vehicle stands out from the pack. It's aged remarkably well. This car is in the best shape I have ever seen a car of this age. It has been meticulously restored to it's original glory. [NOISE] Woah, you have to be careful about building up speed because the brakes in this have definitely not aged amazingly. There's a few cars on my list. Of things to do before I die. And now I can scratch one of them off. The centenary edition Vanquish stands on the shoulders of giants as the pinnacle of everything Aston Martin has achieved in a hundred years. And it is an amazing car. But in 10, 20, 30 years time when the dust has settled, will this car be remembered as. A great Aston Martin? Maybe, maybe not. But the DB-5 is in a different league altogether. Nothing will embody Aston Martin as much as it does. They don't make them like they used to.