A Rare ‘James Bond’ Prop Once Sold For $6 Million
For movie fans across the world, the James Bond movies have captivated audiences for decades. Not only is the character of James Bond a cool and smooth secret agent, but he also does his job with a wide range of gadgets and tools. Some of the most iconic tools that Bond uses in the franchise are the cars that he drives, and they have traditionally been Aston Martins. And in regard to Bond’s Aston Martins, there have been many iconic model years as well. For example, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 was so popular and iconic that it was once auctioned off for over $6 million.
Why James Bond needs a car in the first place
The Bond franchise has been around since 1962 when Dr. No premiered, and since then, it’s been a runaway hit that has spawned countless sequels. With Daniel Craig’s final Bond movie, No Time to Die, there will be a total of 27 Bond movies so far. And, while the Bond franchise is famous for recasting the lead role every now and again, the movies are also pretty predictable.
At the core of each Bond movie are three elements, Bond himself, the toys that Bond gets to play with, and the super-villain that Bond has to stop. Of course, there are more to the movies than just that, but every Bond movie has those three things. When it comes to his toys, it only makes sense that a secret agent as cool as Bond will drive around a cool car that can go fast but also, come equipped with guns, missile launchers, and ejection seats.
A look at the real Aston Martin DB5
While having guns, missile launchers, and ejection seats in a car sounds like a cool idea, it’s not really practical in real life. In real life, the famous DB5 that Bond drove in Goldfinger and Thunderball was a real car that was in production at the time, though there were some modifications. Since it was a car from the 60s, while it was cool, it’s not very fast by today’s standards.
The DB5 came with a 4.0-liter straight-6 engine, and that gave it up to 280-hp. Due to its sleek design and light weight, it could hit a top speed of about 140 MPH, and it could accelerate from 0 to 60 MPH in about 8 seconds. Of course, the real value behind the DB5 isn’t its engine, but rather its place in pop culture. This is especially true for the few DB5s that were actually used in the making of the Bond movies.
That’s why in 2019, CNN reported that an anonymous buyer bought one of the three DB5s used to promote Thunderball for $6.4 million. That said, this DB5 wasn’t actually in the movie. CNN said that it was one of two DB5s that were built to go on tour in order to promote the movie. However, CNN also said that this DB5 can actually use the car’s smokescreen dispenser and its ejection seat, though it doesn’t come equipped with missiles, of course.
The other DB5s that were on sale
Like CNN said, a total of three DB5s were modified for the Bond movies, and one of them was also auctioned off a few years ago. That one fetched $4.6 million in 2010. The fate of the other DB5 that was modified for the Bond movies isn’t known.
But, for rich fans of the Bond movies who couldn’t get their hands on one of those DB5s, there’s some hope left. Like CNN reported, in 2018, Aston Martin announced that it’ll make 25 replica DB5s that will have some of the features that Bond-modified DB5s have. These replicas start at $3.5 million.
