Bond has used models from Lotus, BMW, Toyota and even a humble Citroen CV, but they all pale into insignificance against this British sports car with its famous ejector seat, machine guns and revolving number plates.
The car can be seen in numerous repeat showings of the James Bond movies and even today, when a regular Aston Martin DB5 crops up on a street, people always associate it with author Ian Fleming's genial fictional figure.
The DB5 now has a reprise role in the new, 25th James Bond film "No Time to Die," the release of which has been postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Actor Daniel Craig drives one just like the car seen in "Goldfinger," but this one is a replica, one of a limited 25 Goldfinger Continuation cars being constructed at the Aston Martin factory in Newport Pagnell in England. Each one costs upwards of 3.5 million dollars to buy.
Th replicas feature a range of other "working" Goldfinger gadgets, including battering rams front and rear and a bullet-resistant rear shield. Of course, the guns are simulated ones that don't actually shoot bullets.
Each car takes some 4,500 hours to assemble, says Paul Spires, who heads the works where the cars are built. "We are making perhaps some of the most desirable toys ever built for 25 very lucky buyers worldwide," he says.
The reborn DB5 looks just like the original, and drives the same too. The company has not attempted to modernize the technology.
Since plans for the 4-litre straight-six engine had gone astray, it was scanned and recreated using computer tomography. The heavy rack and pinion steering is without power assistance, and there are no electric windows or driver aids.
The engine is still mated to a five-speed ZF gearbox, and owners have 290 brake horsepower to play with. With a mechanical limit slip differential to combat wheelspin, the rear-wheel drive Aston can bound from zero to 100kph in 7.1 seconds. Top speed in 229kph.
The car was created in association with the producers of the James Bond films, EON Productions, and the gadgets make it must-have for those lucky enough to afford the exorbitant asking price.
Inside there's a simulated radar tracking map, a telephone in the driver's door and an under-seat weapons storage tray. The ejector seat is a dummy version, although the car be supplied with a removable passenger seat roof panel. Instead of the original oil slick delivery system designed to send pursuers skidding off the road, the replica sprays soapy water onto the highway.
Spires admits that all these fancy features mean the car cannot be driven legally on public roads, but deep-pocketed owners are not put off. "You won't get hold of a Bond car for less than this," says Spires. Regular DB5s cost a lot less, but "the last time one of the original film cars came up for auction, it cost more than twice as much to buy."
The high price has one advantage. Owners can do what they like with the car without having to ensure the admonishment of Q, the head of the bespoke secret weapons division, who issues Bond with the DB5 and tells him: "Try and bring it back in one piece."
