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Aston Martin DB5 'No Time to Die' Edition takes 007 to the tikes

Last August, The Little Car Company introduced the Aston Martin DB5 Junior. It was a two-thirds-scale replica of the life-sized item, with an electric powertrain in place of the inline-six, made for kids whose leases were up on their Little Tikes Cars and wanted to get into something more mature. A year later, with the new James Bond film No Time to Die finally reaching theaters at the end of this month, The Little Car Company (TLC) has rolled out a DB5 Junior No Time to Die Edition in its sales garage. Working with Aston Martin, Eon Productions, and Bond film special effects supervisor Chris Corbould, the newest little Aston gets more power and a host of gadgets. The original DB5 Junior contained a 1.8-kWh battery pack powering a 6.7-horsepower motor, and could be driven in Novice or Expert modes. The Bond-themed version has been uprated to a 7.2-kWh pack turning a 21.5-hp motor, and can be piloted in Novice, Expert, Competition and Escape modes. It's the most powerful vehicle the company currently offers, and can go up to 80 miles on a charge. Fidelity to the original includes Silver Birch paint and Smiths instruments, although a couple of gauges have been swapped out to serve an EV powertrain instead of internal combustion. The Bilstein dampers and Brembo brakes with brake regeneration are subtle improvements. And true, Daniel Craig's Bond doesn't drive the droptop DB5, but TLC made a Q Branch executive decision so that parents could fit in the car beside their kids.   Gadgets are controlled by a hidden switch panel in the passenger's door, because agents-in-training should focus on driving. They goodies menu lists a digital license plate, fake Gatling guns behind the headlights, a real smokescreen generator emitted through exhaust tips, and a skid mode. Owners of the last year's DB5 Junior will get first right of refusal to purchase the No Time to Die Edition. Unlike the original, which TLC made 1,059 examples of, the DB5 Junior No Time to Die Edition will be limited to 125 units. The new version doubles the price of the original, costing GBP90,000 ($122,616 U.S.) plus tax to become a miniature agent in Her Majesty's Secret Service.  Related Video:

More V12 power, no turbos | 2017 Aston Martin Vanquish S First Drive

Like the last days of the dinosaurs, Aston Martin's $294,950 Vanquish S is one of a handful of extant Tyrannosaurus Rex – few big-capacity naturally aspirated engines still bellow rage at the world in general. So, six liters, twelve cylinders, 48 valves, and no turbos; hurrah. Well, as long as you're not buying the gas. As the delivery driver who brought this car to me observed: "Whatever I seem to do with this car, it never gives more than 14.5 mpg, where as long as you barely touch the throttle, the new DB11 gives you about 18." Aston's DB11, which debuted this year with a fresh chassis/powertrain architecture that will eventually underpin a new car with the Vanquish nameplate, is twin-turbocharged. The Vanquish S, with its extra power, is decidedly not. It's the off-duty moments that stymie gas mileage for naturally aspirated mills like the one in this car. Dragging that huge crank, con rods, pistons, and cams around plays havoc on economy when you aren't on it like jam on toast. At full throttle, there's not a lot in it, turbo or no turbo. The Vanquish is the most unlikely car ever to have almost not made it into production. The name was first used in 2001 attached to Ian Callum's toothsome aluminum/carbon composite coupe body, but then chief executive Uli Bez held it back for six months, officially because he didn't like the Ford Ka air vents. Unofficially, as he later admitted: "What no one wanted to hear at the time is that Vanquish was crap. I changed 200 things, and even then, it burned through gearboxes." At the heart of the Vanquish then and now is a V12 engine, effectively built out of two Ford Mondeo Cleveland V6 units. It's easy to scoff at such humble beginnings, but the rumor machine elicits Porsche and Cosworth involvement in its gestation. First introduced in the 1999 DB7 V12 Vantage, the engine was then tuned to 460 horsepower for the 2001 Vanquish, which also debuted Aston's bonded-and-riveted VH platform chassis. Over 2,500 of these amazing cars were sold in standard and (from 2004) S forms, though its robotized manual transmission was problematic.

249 reasons you want to go to Goodwood Revival

At its most basic, Goodwood Revival is a long weekend worth of car races featuring cars made before 1970. There are lots of those, though, including some pretty great ones all over the world. But nothing is like Goodwood Revival because it's so much more than "just" vintage car racing.  First, you have to look the part. Attendees are strongly encouraged to dress in period clothing from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, with a strict dress code enforced should you want to enter the paddock. The goal is to create a more authentic atmosphere to match the cars and the meticulously restored and recreated paddocks, grandstands and other facilities of the reborn Goodwood circuit. Now, the dress code was relaxed this year since the Saturday was literally the hottest Sept. 9 on record in that part of England, and the organizers didn't want people dropping dead because they needed to wear an ascot. Some people definitely took the "relaxed" bit too far, but there was still plenty of atmosphere maintained. It really does make a big difference, as those "relaxed" individuals were often akin to seeing a Starbucks cup in a scene from "Game of Thrones."  You can see what I came up with below along with former Autoblog editor Reese Counts and various other Goodwood attendees. Second, there's the parking lot. But I'll let this entire separate post detail that. Third, there's the enormous carnival-like area featuring vintage-looking rides and various boutiques. Both of those are on the outside portion of the track, and honestly, you could easily just spend your entire day in the parking lot and carnival/shopping area without even crossing over into the circuit area. There you'll find more shops, food and drink opportunities, plus obviously, race car paddocks and the track itself.  Fourth, there are airplanes! I heard there are fewer than in the past, but they're there and they're cool. The Goodwood circuit started out life as the perimeter road around the World War II airfield RAF Westhampnett.  Fifth, with all of the above, Goodwood Revival really is fun for the whole family. It isn't just a bunch of old guys sitting around in lawn chairs. There are plenty of women and adorably dressed children, including babies in vintage prams. It's also not an event that's exclusively for the uber rich, even if they are certainly in full force given who has the sort of money needed to go vintage racing.