Aston Martin is recreating a limited run of the 007 legendary DB5 cars. The vehicle will have the rotating license plates featured in movies including "Goldfinger," but there's no word on smoke screens or oil slicks.
Image: 2015 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., Danjaq, LLC and Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc.
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Luxury auto group Aston Martin announced on Monday it will recreate 25 legendary DB5 cars. The original DB5 was used by secret agent James Bond in cinema classics such as "Goldfinger" (1964), "Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)," "Skyfall" (2012) and "Spectre" (2015).
The Aston Martin DB5 made its first appearance in 1964 with Sean Connery's James Bond in 'Goldfinger'Image: Imago/Cinema Publishers Collection
Functioning gadgets such as "revolving number plates and more," will be included on the Aston Martin DB5 recreation, according to an Aston Martin press release. It did not specify whether the bulletproof screen at the rear of the prototype driven by Sean Connery in "Goldfinger" would be included. Nor did it mention the front-mounted guns, a passenger ejector seat, a nail spreader, or a smoke screen device at the rear.
'M's orders, 007. You'll be using this Aston Martin DB5, with modifications. Now, pay attention please...'
James Bond's Aston Martin also had an oil slick sprayer and water jets, courtesy of MI6's Q-Branch, but the fictional spy unit won't be involved in the new DB5 creations. Instead, EON Productions, which makes James Bond movies, will work with Aston Martin and a special effects supervisor.
James Bond's car at Oxford University while he has a lesson with Professor Inga Bergstrom in 'Tomorrow Never Dies' (1997)Image: 1997 Danjaq, LLC and Eighteen Leasing Corp.
The original prototype uesd in the films was auctionedfor $4.6 million (€4.03 million at today's exchange rate) in 2010. Each of the new Goldfinger DB5s will cost £2.75 million ($3.50 million, €3.07 million). The cars will not be road-legal. The first model is set to be ready for sale in 2020.
The silver screen Bond, perenially a Bentley man in the original novels by Iain Fleming, has driven many different brands of cars down the decades. However, ever since the DB5 made its 1964 debut, 007 and Q-branch have had a special relationship with Aston Martin. As well as using his DB5 in five films, Bond has been issued with five other tricked-out Astons.
12 spy films set in Germany
From James Bond to Ethan Hunt, many cinematic secret agents spent time in Germany. Steven Spielberg's film "Bridge of Spies" is set in Berlin and was filmed there, too - but others just reproduced the city.
Image: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
Tom Hanks among spies in Berlin
Many parts of Steven Spielberg's movie were shot in and around Berlin. It re-enacts the first of a series of spy swaps that took place on Glienicke Bridge, which became known as the "Bridge of Spies," hence the title of the film. Spielberg isn't the first filmmaker to portray secret agents in Germany. Here are more examples.
Image: 2014 Twentieth Century Fox
'5 Fingers'
The film "5 Fingers" (1952), directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, is about a famous secret agent during World War II who worked for the Nazis - widely known by his code name, Cicero. Although other spy movies were filmed on location, this one was mainly shot in the studio.
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'Spy for Germany'
This West German thriller, originally titled "Spion für Deutschland" (1956), also depicts the actions of a German secret agent during World War II. Starring Martin Held and Nadja Tiller, it was filmed both in Berlin and the US.
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'The Dirty Game'
Werner Klinger, who directed "Spy for Germany," was also among the four filmmakers who helmed this 1965 anthology spy film. It is made up of stories directed by a German, a French, an Italian, and a British filmmaker. Shot in Berlin, it starred Henry Fonda and Robert Ryan.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives/IFTN
'Torn Curtain'
Alfred Hitchcock filmed his spy thriller "Torn Curtain" in the studio in 1966. However, some scenes were shot on location in Berlin. Camera crews filmed in the German capital and sent their footage to Hollywood so Hitchcock could use the material in his movie. The cast included German actors Wolfgang Kieling and Hansjörg Felmy, along with US stars Julie Andrews and Paul Newman.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives/IFTN
James Bond in Berlin: 'Octopussy'
A large part of the 13th movie of the most popular secret agent in film history, James Bond, was shot in Berlin in 1983. Agent 007, depicted by Roger Moore, is seen at Checkpoint Charlie, in front of the Berlin Wall, and does a chase scene on the AVUS highway. Bond's love scenes were filmed in the studio, though.
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'The Innocent'
In 1993, John Schlesinger filmed on location in Berlin. "The Innocent" is based on the Cold War "Operation Gold," where CIA and MI6 agents built a tunnel under the Russian sector of Berlin. Anthony Hopkins, Isabella Rossellini and Campbell Scott star in the film.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/United Archives/IFTN
'Mission: Impossible III'
For the third film in the "Mission: Impossible" series, director J.J Abrams and star Tom Cruise initially planned to film in the German Reichstag. But the German government didn't allow them to shoot in the building - a council decided it should not be used in commercial films. The crew had to build sets in Babelsberg Studio, just outside Berlin.
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'The Good German'
"The Good German" (2006) by Steven Soderbergh also demonstrates how studio sets can replace actual locations. The story is set in post-war Berlin, but was filmed in Los Angeles. However, Soderbergh built in archive material of the actual war-torn city in his gloomy film shot in black-and-white.
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'Spy Game'
This 2001 spy thriller starring Robert Redford and Brad Pitt is set in Berlin, but it wasn't shot in Germany either. Locations in Budapest were used to reproduce the German capital. This can actually be noticed in some scenes: Some elements in the background do not exist in Berlin.
Image: picture-alliance/dpa
'The Man from U.N.C.L.E.'
Currently in theaters, the secret agent comedy "The Man from U.N.C.L.E." contains many scenes set in Berlin in the 1960s. Henry Cavill depicts an American secret agent competing with a Russian spy. The film beautifully recreates the atmosphere of divided Berlin - yet everything was done by computer.
Image: 2015 WARNER BROS. ENTERTAINMENT INC. AND RATPAC-DUNE ENTERTAINMENT LLC ALL RIGHTS RESERVED/Daniel Smith
'Homeland'
The fifth season of the popular TV series "Homeland" was shot in Berlin, too. Agent Carrie Mathison is no longer working for the CIA and is hired by a German private security firm. Filming was also done in Babelsberg Studios and in Brandenburg.
Image: picture alliance/landov/K. Smith
On location: Glienicke Bridge
Steven Spielberg filmed his spy movie on location in Berlin. After all, the legendary and mysterious Glienicke Bridge also inspired the title of his film, "Bridge of Spies." Sometimes the actual location simply beats all studio sets and digital reproductions.
