Shaken, not stirred is a very famous quote from the driver of this weeks iconic movie car! In the movie Goldfinger from 1964 James Bond drove an Aston Martin DB5 which became an iconic movie car throughout the years of James Bond and his popularity among young and old viewers. In the book James Bond drove a DB Mark III but the Aston Martin DB5 was the company’s latest model when filming began.

The car used in the film is a prototype to the DB5 and another car was used to film all of the stunts. During the 1964 New York World’s Fair it was dubbed “the most famous car in the world” and during this time with the movie release and with advertising it helped boost car sales. The first DB5 prototype used in the movie was stripped of its weaponry and gadgetry by Aston Martin and then resold. It was then retrofitted by subsequent owners with non-original weaponry. That DB5 was stolen in 1997 from its last owner in Florida and is currently still missing.

Famous for its array of gadgets, the film’s script initially has the car armed only with a smoke screen. However, the gadgets rapidly increase with ideas from the crew members. The cars gadgets included, machine guns, Tire-Shredding blade, Bullet screen, Radar Scanner and tracking screen, Passenger ejector seat, Oil slick, Smoke screen, Bullet-proof windscreen, Revolving number plates, Rear water cannons, Alpine 7817R which was Bonds communications device. Promotional and unused gadgets were: Caltrop dispenser, Radio telephone, Front and rear extending rams, and a concealed Compartment under the driver’s seat. For the time, the car was awesome and Bond had no problems kicking butt with it!

 

The DB5 was produced 1963-1965 and a total of 1,023 were made. It came with a few different body styles of which were a 2-door 2+2 coupe, 2-door Convertible, and a 2-door shooting brake. The car was equipped with a  3,995 cc Tadek Marek inline 6 Motor.  A 4 speed manual with optional Overdrive was one of the three transmissions included with the car, the other two were a ZF 5-Speed all-synchro manual and a Borg Warner DG/Model 8 automatic. The 0-60 mph acceleration was clocked at a sluggish 8s and the Top speed of the car was 143 MPH. The car produced 282 bhp at 5,500 rpm. The DB5 Vantage was introduced in 1964 featuring a three Weber twin-choke 45DCOE side-draft carburetors and revised camshaft profiles delivering greater top end performance. This engine type produced 315 hp and only 65 of these were built.

There is no denying that this is a pretty car and pretty damn iconic being behind the man known as James Bond. I doubt there is a single person alive that if you mention the name James Bond that they wouldn’t know who you were speaking of. I am sadly not a huge James Bond fan but I have always loved the cars that they display in their movies.