Ahead of James Bond's return to cinemas, we delved into the Autocar archives and declassified a road test of 007's most iconic car...
Our recent road test of the Aston Martin DB5 (18 September 1964) confirmed that the newly launched British grand touring sports car offers a peerless combination of style and performance. The conclusion we reached in that test was that “this is a car that cries out to be driven, to be driven well and to be driven far. It is a car requiring skill and muscle – a man’s car – which challenges and satisfies and always excites.”
We would not seek to revise that verdict in any substantial way. Yet we have recently had the opportunity to test a modified version of the DB5 – one that has been given a variety of customised options on behalf of somebody who was, we’re told, a “very demanding” client. All of these were surprising, some were positively dangerous and together they made this car an even more compelling proposition than the basic model.
Design and engineering
The provisions of the Official Secrets Act prevent us from describing the specifics of this DB5’s use, but Aston Martin insiders told us its former keeper was a keen Bentley man who was initially reluctant to embrace new technology. The excitement of the car’s earlier life was borne out by some very interesting patina.
The standout modification is undoubtedly that of the twin .303-calibre machine guns that have been mounted within the front wings, electromechanical actuation deploying the barrels from behind the lenses of the indicators when they’re armed. These aren’t precision weapons; they can’t be elevated or declined and can be aimed only by steering the car. But their ability to each fire up to 650 rounds per minute more than makes up for their limited accuracy.
This Aston Martin has also been given many defensive features. These include a smokescreen and a rear-mounted oil slick to discourage any pursuers, as well as a deployable bulletproof shield located behind the rear windscreen. There are also power-operated rams within the front and rear bumpers, although we suspect that, like us, this DB5’s former keeper struggled to find a use for these.
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Along side the original road test, it would've been nice to also publish the photos from the that test.
I wonder whether Aston Martin, if it had no James Bond connection, would have gone the way of Bristol, TVR, Marcos and other small manufacturers of expensive sports cars.