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Aston Martin begins building continuation DB5 with fake machine guns

We could have written this sentence in 1963: "Aston Martin has launched production of the DB5." Then, it would have referred to a shapely new coupe introduced to the popping of flash bulbs to replace the DB4. In 2020, it signals that the first batch of "Goldfinger"-spec continuation cars announced in 2018 by former CEO Andy Palmer are nearly ready to roar out of the Aston Martin Heritage Division's workshop in Newport Pagnell, England.  Workers build each DB5 from scratch, they're not starting with a donor car, and the process takes approximately 4,500 hours (or six full months). The firm explained it builds cars by hand using period-correct manufacturing techniques when possible, but it's not opposed to embracing modern engineering advancements when needed. Aston Martin enlisted the help of EON Productions, the company that makes James Bond films, to ensure the continuation cars are accurate replicas of the DB5 used in "Goldfinger." Most of the gadgets that wowed movie fans on the big screen are accounted for, including a rear smoke screen delivery system, a simulated oil slick delivery system, a set of revolving license plates to fool the bad guys, and twin machine guns hidden behind the headlights. Fear not; they're fake, so you don't need to invest in an armored Mercedes-Benz G-Class if you spot a new DB5 in your neighbor's driveway. Buyers can pay extra for a hatch above the passenger-side front seat. Inside, the add-ons include a telephone integrated into the driver's door, a radar screen tracker map (which is also fake), and a tray used to store weapons under the seats. Watch your elbow if you're lucky enough to ride in one: Some of the buttons used to activate the aforementioned gadgets are integrated into the armrest. The aluminum hood hides a 4.0-liter straight-six engine that slurps gasoline through three SU carburetors to deliver about 290 horsepower. It spins the rear wheels via a five-speed manual transmission and a mechanical limited-slip differential. Aston is also installing disc brakes all around and non-assisted rack-and-pinion steering, so the continuation cars will accelerate, handle, look and sound like a DB5 should. Aston Martin is only making 25 examples of the modern-day DB5, and it priced each one at GBP2.7 million (about $3.3 million at the current conversion rate). Deliveries are scheduled to begin in the second half of 2020, which is when the DB5 will return to the big screen in the next installment of the James Bond series.

The last gunfighter | 2017 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S First Drive

Here's a deliciously subversive thought for you: Stats are ruining enthusiast cars. We use them to rank the latest models, critique them, and deify them. Sometimes the numbers happen to align with a bunch of intangibles, and the car becomes transcendent – like the Ferrari 458 Speciale, a very special thing indeed. There are cars with great numbers and very little charisma; I've driven many of them. And then, there are the number-based narratives that mislead us. For example, the hoopla around the Mazda MX-5's horsepower, or the continuing lack of a Toyobaru with a turbo – frustrating crosstalk about purist platforms better understood on track than on paper. The 2017 Aston Martin V12 Vantage S is flawed, old, and weak – so say the insidious numbers. A mechanical watch doesn't keep time as well as a quartz one, the numbers say. A tube amplifier produces an inferior sound, the numbers say. The way to fight back is to stop this slavish devotion to the stats and go wind the thing out on good roads in imperfect conditions, which is to my mind the ultimate test of a grand tourer's competence. Southern California was rocked this winter by wild weather – much of the Angeles Crest Highway that dances along the spine of the San Gabriel Mountains was closed due to heavy snow. So much for Plan A. Some roadside rerouting led to some promising roads, so I pointed the Aston into the curves. The V12 roar is a profound part of this car's appeal. Uphill and building steam, the Vantage is a symphony's brass section playing the sounds of wolves on the hunt. Downshifts yowl and snarl like a pack crashing through the underbrush in search of prey. Under deceleration, it sounds like lupine static, unearthly and resonant; wound out it's a frenzied whir. Every stab of throttle brings an immediate response: sound and acceleration in equal measure. If you have even the barest appreciation of joy, you can't stay out of the throttle. This is soulful, warm, analog – but merely honest rather than consciously retro. There's nothing here trying to simulate an authentic experience – it is an authentic experience. It's all right there, under the long and delicate hood – twelve cylinders displacing 5.9 liters. And inside the cabin, a seven-speed manual gearshift lever that moves through a dogleg pattern. This watch requires winding; it's a tactile experience that the quickest, most sophisticated dual-clutch automated manual can't touch.

5 things to know about the Aston Martin Lagonda SUV

Though Aston Martin unveiled its Lagonda Sedan first, we were told that the British ultra-luxury electric/autonomous spinoff brand's first production car would be an SUV. Today, at the 2019 Geneva Motor Show, they took the wraps off an All-Terrain Concept: a battery-powered, autonomous-ready, all-wheel-drive crossover intended to presage that vehicle. We walked around, and sat in, the vehicle with Aston Martin Lagonda chief creative officer and design studio head, Marek Reichman, who provided us with all sorts of interesting insights about this new vehicle, and brand, which is expected to bow in 2021. Here are five things we learned. It Has a Hood for a Reason "The sedan was the most extreme version of this new design language, derived from the proportion of not having to have an engine, exhaust, driveline, or gas tank. This new concept has more of a hood, but by no means a typical SUV profile -- the windshield starts above the front axle line. This is because in an all-terrain vehicle, in all-terrain mode when you're going through snow or rough road, you want to feel protected. You want to see something in front of you." It's Huge Inside "Because of the powertrain, it has more space inside than a Rolls-Royce Cullinan, which is fully a meter [more than 3 feet] longer. Luxury now is about time and space. I can't give you time, but I can give you space." It Has Radical Materials Inside "Just like we are unconstrained by tradition on the exterior, we are similarly unconstrained in the interior. We've used materials that define modern, contemporary luxury. Not like the traditional values of an English country manor. So on the seats we have cashmere. On the key we have Swarovski crystals. On the headliner we have alpaca. And on the door cards, we have silks. This car will be built in Wales and many of these materials come from Wales." It's Luxurious and Utilitarian "Design is about solving a problem. In this case, it's about solving for a customer who needs more practical applications. So we've made the interior flexible. The front seats rotate for a future autonomous mode. But you can get fixed seats up front and move the rear sheets forward to allow room for a third row. Or you can move both rear rows forward and have more room for cargo. It's a redefinition of uses rather than trying to fit something into the box of what an SUV can be." It's Trendy and Anti-Trend "A designer's job is to see if a trend is going to burn out quickly or be long term.