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Iconic movie cars: the DeLorean DMC-12 from Back To The Future; Steve McQueen's dark green Ford Mustang in Bullitt; and the Aston Martin DB5, which James Bond (Sean Connery) first used in Goldfinger.
Now, while DMC has long since gone out of business, and Ford is doing a modern reinterpretation of the legendary McQueen Mustang, only Aston Martin is actually rebuilding the original star - yes, 25 'Continuation' DB5s are going into production.
The handful of new DB5s will be built as part of a collaboration between Aston Martin Works at Newport Pagnell in the UK (the original home of the DB5) and EON Productions, the company behind the Bond franchise. Each car will be an authentic reproduction of BMT 216A, including functioning gadgets as seen in Goldfinger, like the revolving number plates. Chris Corbould, the special effects advisor from the James Bond films, will be co-developing these toys.
All the Goldfinger Continuation DB5s will be produced to one specification, which means the fabled Silver Birch paint, and there will be a few 'sympathetic modifications' to these Astons to ensure they're up to snuff for modern motoring requirements.
While the DB5 was most famously used to pursue Auric Goldfinger's Rolls-Royce Phantom III in the 1964 movie, the car has made six further appearances in the franchised series: once more with Connery, in 1965's Thunderball; twice with Pierce Brosnan, in GoldenEye (1995) and Tomorrow Never Dies (1997); and then three times in the Daniel Craig 'reboot' era, for Casino Royale (2006), Skyfall (2012) and Spectre (2015).
After the original run of 25 cars are built, a further three will be constructed for special purposes. Aston Martin and EON will keep one each, while another will be auctioned for charity.
Andy Palmer, president and CEO of Aston Martin, said: "The connection between Aston Martin and James Bond is something of which we are very proud and it is remarkable that the DB5 remains the definitive James Bond car after so many years. To own an Aston Martin has long been an aspiration for James Bond fans, but to own a Silver Birch DB5, complete with gadgets and built to the highest standards in the very same factory as the original James Bond cars? Well, that is surely the ultimate collectors' fantasy. The skilled craftspeople at Aston Martin Works and the expert special effects team from the James Bond films are about to make this fantasy real for 25 very lucky customers."
Paul Spires, managing director at Aston Martin Works, added: "The connection between Aston Martin and James Bond originated more than half a century ago. Creating 25 Goldfinger DB5 Continuations and working with EON Productions and special effects supervisor, Chris Corbould, is something truly unique and a real career highlight for everyone involved here at Aston Martin Works."
Anything else?
Aston Martin has already done 25 Continuation series versions of the DB4, so the DB5 wasn't wholly unexpected - although the Bond tie-in is particularly sentimental. But don't get too excited just yet, as each of the 25 DB5s will retail for £2.75 million plus local taxes, which is about €3.06m at the time of writing. Gulp. The first deliveries to the lucky few customers who will own one of these things should start in either late 2019 or early 2020.