Ejector seat
In Goldfi nger, Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 is equipped
with an ejector seat for swiftly removing any
unwanted passengers. The car also has built-in
machine guns, tyre spikes and can create a
smokescreen to help fend off the enemy.Submarine car
007 can navigate land and sea with his Lotus Esprit
S1 in The Spy Who Loved Me. It swiftly transforms
into a submarine when Bond drives it off the end of
the pier, then becomes a car again when he reaches
the beach.Rocket boosters
The Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante’s normal
engine isn’t powerful enough for 007 in The
Living Daylights, so his is kitted out with a rocket
propulsion system. The armrest also has a built in
control panel for operating lasers and missiles.© Thin k stock; Dreamstime; Rex Feat uresWhether he’s chasing down villains or wooing Bond
girls, 007’s most important gadget is always his
car. The new movie is no exception, and will pit the
Aston Martin DB10 against the powerful Jaguar
C-X75 concept car in an extreme cat-and-mouse
chase around the streets of Rome. Aston Martin
worked closely with the movie’s director Sam
Mendes to design Bond’s bespoke DB10, but has
adopted MI6-level secrecy about the car’s features.
In the movie trailer, Bond’s gadget inventor, Q, says
that the two-door coupe has “a few little tricks up
her sleeve”, but only a few of these have been
revealed. Here’s what we know so far...Meet Bond’s sleek and
speedy co-star from the
latest movie, Spectre
007’s new
wheels
Up to speed
In the Spectre trailer, Q
reveals that the DB10 can
go from 0-97km/h
(0-60mph) in 3.2 seconds.Under the hood
The car’s inner workings
are based on those of
the V8 Vantage,
including its 4.7-litre
(1.2-gallon) V8 engine.The state-of-the-art
features, for your
eyes onlyAston
Martin DB10
T
he recent James Bond fi lm Spectre sees the
world’s favourite spy reunited on-screen
with his most beloved car brand, the Aston
Martin. But of course Bond doesn’t drive just any
old Aston Martin. The suave secret agent has a
long and colourful histor y of being handed the
keys to the most tricked-out, gadget-stuffed ride
on the planet – right before he goes and ruins it.
But this is all just fantastical fi ction, right?
Actually: wrong. A growing number of jitter y
celebrities – including ex-Spice Girl Mel B and
rapper Kanye West – have been investing in
armoured vehicles, many of them bristling with
features like electric shocking door handles,
aimed to deter paparazzi and would-becarjackers. From the outside, these vehicles are
indistinguishable from the standard models, but
to their occupants they are four-wheeled
fortresses that lend them peace of mind as they
travel from A to B.
US fi rm Texas A rmoring Corporation (TAC)
outfi ts as many as 100 such “personal protection”
vehicles per year. According to CEO Trent Kimball,
though, paranoid actors, musicians and sports
stars make up only a small minorit y of the
company’s clientele. Instead, most of their vehicle
upgrades are performed for what Kimball terms
“high net worth indiv iduals” travelling in places
where there is a ver y real, ver y serious kidnap-for-
ransom risk.Invisibility cloak
In Die Another Day, 007 can evade detection by
simply activating the adaptive camoufl age of his
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, making it disappear
completely. He can then deploy the missiles
mounted in the front grille to defeat the bad guys.Remote control
Bond can control his BMW 750iL with his Ericsson
mobile phone in To m o rrow N eve r D ie s, so he
doesn’t even need to be behind the wheel. It also
has bulletproof windows and electrifi ed door
handles to shock any thieves.Defi brillator
When Bond drinks a Martini spiked with poison in
Casino Royale, he heads back to his Aston Martin
DBS V12 to use its built-in defi brillator machine. A
quick shock to the chest helps bring his heart rate
back to normal again.THE BEST BOND CAR GADGETS
James Bond’s high-octane
adventures showcase
cutting-edge car techDID YOU KNOW? Casino Royale’s Aston Martin performed seven barrel rolls assisted by an air cannon, breaking the world record