Although we associate James Bond's cars with Aston Martin, the secret agent initially drove a far more modest Sunbeam Alpine in the inaugural "Dr. No" movie released in 1962. A year later, Sean Connery had a Bentley Mark IV in "From Russia with Love." However, the quintessential Bond car is the DB5 from the third movie in the franchise, "Goldfinger," released in 1964. Six decades later, the DB12 gets a special edition to mark the milestone.
The luxury grand tourer has been pampered by Aston Martin's Q division, responsible for highly customized cars. The name of the branch wasn't a letter they randomly picked since it too has ties with the movies and Ian Fleming's novels. Q is the fictional R&D branch of the British Secret Service, and in real life, Q is responsible for high-end Aston Martins. For this DB12 Goldfinger Edition, they went to town with the special touches.
There's 18k gold-plated inside where the precious metal adorns the center console. The flashy finish decorates the rotary dial for the drive modes as well as the gear selector. Gold was also used for the temperature, fan, and volume controls. The gear selector isn't the standard one found in the regular DB12 since its shape has changed to mimic the golden tracking used by Agent 007. Elsewhere, there are metallic gold fibers woven into the carbon fiber.
A neat detail you might miss is the Eight of Hearts logo in the drivers' sun visor as a nod to the playing card seen in the last draw during the Miami pool scene in Goldfinger. Q by Aston Martin also wrapped the seats in leather featuring the fluted style of the DB5, complete with a Prince of Wales check perforation pattern echoing James Bond's suit. This theme extends onto the headliner and door cards.
Stepping outside, you sadly won't find any gadgets on the DB12 Goldfinger Edition. The limited-run coupe comes in Silver Birch to mimic the DB5 used in Goldfinger. It rides on 21-inch silver multi-spoke wheels with black calipers and gets exclusive gold side strakes. In addition, the Aston Martin badge comes in silver with a black enamel while the "Q" badge on the side denotes it's not a run-of-the-mill DB12.
Aston Martin is making only 60 cars, one for each year since Goldfinger hit the theaters. The customers are in for a treat since the special car comes bundled with a lot of goodies. There's a bespoke car cover and a fancy box for the key, plus a Silver Birch Speedform model. The real highlight is a section of the Furka Pass scene in Goldfinger in 35mm film. Buyers also receive an individually numbered champagne bottle, four fancy glasses, and a 1-of-60 Aston Martin magazine.
An Aston Martin will likely feature as the hero car in the next movie of the franchise. The 26th title is planned, but there is no tentative release date yet, and it's still unknown who will portray James Bond. Daniel Craig's five-movie run has ended. According to the producers, fans can expect a "reinvention" of the series.
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