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Aston Martin DB5 from ‘GoldenEye’ will be auctioned

Think of an Aston Martin DB5 in a Bond film, and you're likely to think of "Goldfinger" — the film and the car are forever linked in cinema history. But it's not the only Bond film with a DB5 chase, as the producers were eager to establish Pierce Brosnan as a credible Sean Connery equivalent, and put him in a DB5 on a mountain road in 1995's "GoldenEye." There was no white Mustang to chase in "GoldenEye," as Brosnan's Bond played with a red, reportedly rented Ferrari F355 driven by Famke Janssen. A few years after the film's premiere, in 2001, the DB5 was sold for $200,000. That doesn't sound fantastical for a Bond car, but at the time it was the most expensive piece of Bond memorabilia ever sold. At the end of the decade, the actual "Goldfinger" DB5 sold for roughly $4 million, which is unlikely to be topped by the "GoldenEye" car this summer. The car is not a barn-find or a lost cinema classic, either, as it has been on display in several museums such as the National Motor Museum in Britain. Bonhams will be auctioning this DB5 on July 13 at the Goodwood Festival of Speed. The car's estimated at $1.6 million to $2.14 million, which is still half or less than half of what the "Goldfinger" car brought in. Still, it's a silver Aston Martin with actual cinema history, and it's believably one of the reasons why restored classic Astons still get resprayed in Silver Birch. Related Video:

2017 Aston Martin DB11 First Drive

England's history is filled with war. The last 70-plus years of peace and prosperity are an anomaly. Aston Martin, the nation's only independent carmaker, has similarly weathered strife – often of the financial variety – for most of its existence. Now Aston seeks stability. Its plan calls for new vehicles, a crossover even, and some electric propulsion for good measure. This is still a few years away. To get there, Aston will rely on its specialty, the sports car. Enter the 2017 Aston Martin DB11. While the company transitions, the latest in the DB line is already transformed. It's the successor to the 13-year-old DB9 (the DB10 was James Bond's car in Spectre) and has a new V12 with twin turbos cranking out 600 horsepower. The car is based on a new aluminum architecture that's lighter and stiffer than the DB9's, so the DB11 handles better. Naturally, the design is striking. That's not a cliche. Is all of this enough to sway some Ferrari, Porsche, and Bentley loyalists to Aston's fold? We've come to the gorgeous Italian region of Tuscany to find out. Taking the wheel on a sun-drenched morning, we head for Monte San Savino where a rustic lunch awaits. The V12 immediately grabs our attention. The note is buzzy at first, grows agitated, and then the sound morphs into a growling shout. Naturally aspirated engines are more visceral, but the DB11's turbo 12 is nothing to scoff at. The car sounds best in Sport Plus mode, which gives the engine and eight-speed transmission their most aggressive character. We lay on the throttle and the DB11 shoots forward, its long hood pointing the way through the countryside. The names of the villages roll off the tongue as the signs blur. Montisi. Montalcino. Trequanda. Florence and Pisa lay tantalizingly just outside of our route. Romantic as they sound, it's easy to resist Italy's magic. Its drivers are frickin' crazy. Thankfully, the DB11 has quick reflexes. The steering is moderately weighted, and the suspension stays flat and controlled even when we urge the car aggressively through tight curves. The sticky 20-inch S007 Bridgestone tires stay planted and keep us confident. Things only get unruly during hearty acceleration that causes the tail to come out. It happens rather easily. Most of the time the ride is a comfortable experience, as we expect from a grand tourer. With the sedate GT mode locked in, we examine the cabin. Our DB11 has subdued black leather accented by gold stitching.

Aston Martin-Red Bull 001 details: 175 units, $3M, 0-200-0 in 15 seconds

The Aston Martin AM-RB 001 is starting to sound like it will be the most extreme hypercar ever made. We're basing that on a series of new comments made by Red Bull Racing's resident aerodynamic genius and chief technical officer, Adrian Newey, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal's Dan Neil. Newey shared many interesting nuggets, so we'll try to provide a simple summary of how frighteningly potent the AM-RB 001 is. The new hypercar should hit 200 miles per hour in around 10 seconds, while a massive set of brakes will cut that speed to zero in half the time – in other words, zero to 200 to zero in just 15 seconds. That kind of stopping power sounds physically painful. Certain versions of the 001 will make up to 4,400 pounds of downforce, and if that's not enough to keep the car pasted to the pavement through 4G bends, Newey hinted that the active suspension will rely on the ground effect more than any other car. "I studied aero at the University of Southampton," Newey told Neil. "My final-year project in 1979 and '80 was on ground-effects aerodynamics applied to road cars and sports cars." Beyond the performance stats, Newey verified some of the broader questions about the 001's availability. For one, Aston Martin and Red Bull will build 175 examples of the potentially record-breaking hypercar, with 150 designated for road use and another 25 limited to the track – they're the ones that will enjoy the 4,400 pounds of downforce and full-on 4G cornering ability – so the chances you'll ever encounter a 001 in the wild are almost nil. And buying one? Plan on spending at least $3 million. Newey, along with Aston Martin Chief Designer Marek Reichman and Project Engineer David King, reveal more about the 001 in the piece, including some of the philosophical and design principles behind a $3M hypercar. It's very much worth a read, if you can get around the WSJ's pay wall. Related Video: