Aston Martin has unveiled the successor to the iconic DB9 on stage alongside its most famous customer, someone apparently called Jimmy Bond.
Well, sort of and not quite. Actually this new DB10 will be one of the most exclusive cars Aston has ever made - just ten will be hand-made and all for one customer. That customer is EON Productions, the team behind the James Bond movies and the car(s) will be driven on screen by Daniel Craig and the retinue of stunt drivers who make him look good.
The covers were taken off the DB10 not at a motor show but at the announcement at Pinewood Studios, just outside London, of the name and cast for the 24th big-screen Bond adventure: Spectre. Filming starts next week and will take in - apart from the sound stages at Pinewood, London - Morocco, Mexico, Austria and Rome.
(Actually, there's an Irish connection here. The return of the classic Bond villainous organisation SPECTRE for this movie is the result of a long-awaited legal agreement between EON and the estate of Kevin McLory, a writer who co-created the organisation and the character of Ernst Stavro Blofeld with Ian Fleming. McLory himself lived in Ireland for many years and used to own the country house in Straffan that is now better known to us as The K Club...)
Speaking at the unveiling, Aston Martin's recently-installed new boss Andy Palmer said that the luxury sports car brand is delighted to confirm that James Bond will once again drive an Aston Martin. On this occasion, it will be a model developed specifically for the film and built in-house by the brand's design and engineering teams.
"Led by Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, Marek Reichman, the design team worked closely with the film's director, Sam Mendes, to create the ultimate car for the world's most famous spy."
"Celebrating the great British brand's half century with Bond, which started with the iconic DB5, the DB10 gives a glimpse to the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins."
"In the same year that we celebrate our 50-year relationship with 007, it seems doubly fitting that today we unveiled this wonderful new sports car created especially for James Bond."
"To be partnering once again with EON Productions is great news for this company and for everyone around the world that loves to see Bond at the wheel of an Aston Martin."
"I'm incredibly proud of everyone in the team at Gaydon who have brought this special project from concept to reality."
The important thing for us (quite aside from any schoolboy-ish excitement over a new Bond film) is that the DB10, while it will never be sold to the public, does give us a good look at Aston's future design language. It's more sharply defined than any current Aston, and the cockpit has migrated further back to emphasise the long bonnet. The overhangs also look a lot shorter than on the current DB9, so this speaks of a more aggressive looking future for Aston design as it starts out on its new technical partnership with Mercedes-AMG.
Anything else?
As for the name of any DB9 successor, that's up in the air. DB10 could of course still be used for a production model, but equally DB9 is a known and loved name, so could potentially be re-used. Aston has also trademarked DB11 and DB12, but isn't giving anything away as to a possible final outcome. It's all a bit secret service...