‘Goldfinger’ car is tops among the James Bond chariots

10/24/2012
BY TYREL LINKHORN
BLADE BUSINESS WRITER
The Aston Martin from Goldfinger seems to be the gold standard when it comes to James Bond movie cars.
The Aston Martin from Goldfinger seems to be the gold standard when it comes to James Bond movie cars.

The Aston Martin from Goldfinger seems to be the gold standard when it comes to James Bond movie cars.

Ahead of the November release of Skyfall, the latest Bond film, the auto comparison Web site TotalCarScore.com took to Facebook to ask fans to choose their favorite among 007’s gadget-packed cars.

Unsurprisingly, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sean Connery in Goldfinger and again in Thunderball was ranked No. 1, getting more than twice as many votes as any other car. Fans ranked the 2008 Aston Martin DBS from Quantum of Solace No. 2 and the 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish from Die Another Day No. 3.

Karl Brauer, the Web site’s editor-in-chief, agrees the DB5 — classy, British, and visceral — is the quintessential Bond car.

“Early vehicles, like Dr. No’s Sunbeam Alpine, didn’t diminish 007’s image, yet the Aston Martin DB5 that debuted in Goldfinger set a new standard that has yet to be eclipsed,” he said. “The DB5’s sleek profile can stand on its own, but throw in oil jets, machine guns, and an ejector seat, and you’re left with a Bond icon so powerful they’ve brought it back for the modern movies.”

The car is also likely the most valuable of vehicles to play a starring role in the Bond franchise. Two years ago, a Cincinnati car collector bought the DB5 film car at auction in London for $4.6 million.

In the past, the Web site’s editors have ranked everything from the Top 10 muscle cars to the Top 10 cars for commuting, which was most recently won by the very un-Bond-like Nissan Leaf.

Bond drives a 2012 Aston Martin Vanquish in Skyfall, the franchise’s 23rd installment. The movie comes out Nov. 9.