Iconic Aston Martin again joining James Bond on the big screen
The name says a lot: Aston Martin.
It's a sports car - and an exotic car.
Traits include a plush interior, a slinky shape and a growling engine.
And for decades, its name has been closely associated with another name: James Bond.
When 007 returns this year he'll again be entrenched with the Aston Martin brand in "No Time To Die." The car company didn't miss an opportunity to tweet their latest involvement with the secret agent franchise last fall, noting that in total four of their cars will be seen on the big screen.
Making a triumphant return, again, is the silver DB5 that started it all way back in 1964. Sean Connery as Bond wheeled Aston Martin into automotive movie immortality.
Today, even the entry level model Vantage oozes that 007 vibe, even though this particular car won't have James Bond behind the wheel. But there's something about the rakish $152,000+ sports car that suggests an essence of being on her majesty's secret service.
In the grand scheme of things, Aston Martin is a very small car company. So they've had to form partnerships to save costs, notably incorporating V8 engines provided by Mercedes-Benz's high performance AMG division. The 503 horsepower twin-turbo V8 in the Vantage provides ample power, and saves the small British company a lot of money in expensive development costs.
But even with that, it's tough to make a go these days with only sports cars. Porsche figured that out years ago, and added SUV models.
So the next Aston Martin model will be the brand's first foray into the sport utility world, the 2021 DBX. It'll arrive late this year and join an exotic SUV party already populated with brand names such as Lamborghini, Maserati, Bentley and Rolls-Royce. The folks at Aston say this is "an SUV with the soul of a sports car."
No word on whether 007 might eventually get behind the wheel, but the brand will certainly make plenty of sports cars in the years ahead to keep future Bond movies stocked with exotic dream rides.
