Aside from his charisma and athletic prowess, the ever-famous agent known as James Bond would not be complete without his signature Aston Martin spy car, and the trademark vehicle has taken on many different forms over the decades. Agent 007 has a copious arsenal of weapons and gadgets, from laser-shooting wristwatches to explosive tubes of toothpaste, but none of them compare to the iconic weaponized automobile. Throughout the James Bond franchise, the Aston Martin has been featured in a plethora of different models, driving home the fact that 007 prefers to ride in style.
As the James Bond movie franchise has progressed, 007 has driven other spy cars besides an Aston Martin — he’s been seen behind the wheels of a Rolls-Royce, a BMW, a Bentley, and even a Ford. However, given its archetypal nature, the series has always found a way to reunite James Bond with his Aston Martin in some way, shape, or form, regardless of the actor portraying the character. This is an entire list of Aston Martin models that have been featured throughout the James Bond movies.
The 1963 Aston Martin DB5
Starting with the original Sean Connery portrayal of 007, the very first model of Aston Martin to be featured was the DB5. This car is undoubtedly the most recognizable of the models, not to mention one of the most recognizable cars in all of cinema history. After its debut in the 1964 Connery film Goldfinger, the DB5 has since made a whopping total of nine appearances in film, including Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, The World Is Not Enough, Casino Royale, Skyfall, Spectre, and, most recently, 2021’s No Time to Die.
The DB5 is as deadly as it is iconic. Like most of 007’s cars, it was upgraded by Q, Bond’s inventor friend introduced in Dr. No. Like any car driven by a secret agent, the vehicle is outfitted with loads upon loads of high-tech gear and weaponry. It has front-mounted machine guns and tire slashers in the wheels for offensive capabilities and an oil slick and smoke screen for defense. Other gadgets include a GPS tracking system, bulletproof armor, an ejector seat, and, of course, rotating number plates. Essentially, it has everything a good spy needs to perform their best out in the field.
The 1968 Aston Martin DBS
This next entry comes from the next James Bond after Connery, George Lazenby. Being featured in his only Bond film, On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, in 1969, the DBS model Aston Martin was a great way to not only distinguish between Lazenby and Connery, but it was also a nice callback to his predecessor and his legendary performance. Unfortunately, unlike the DB5, the DBS is a bit more low-tech, as it did not come with as many gadgets as the one before. Though, that is not to say that it didn’t have any whatsoever, as it did feature a sniper rifle mounting in its glove compartment.
The 1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante
Moving on to Timothy Dalton’s portrayal of 007, the next Aston Martin listed is, in a way, a combination of the previous two. The V8 Vantage Volante from Dalton’s 1987 debut film The Living Daylights includes as much weaponry as Connery’s DB5 while also keeping the darker paint job of Lazenby’s DBS. This little number features more updated gadgets, including lasers, missiles, jet propulsion, and a self-destruct feature. It also has devices specifically tailored to the environment that Dalton’s Bond was deployed to, as it has extendable ski runners that are perfect for traversing snowy landscapes of the Alps while evading KGB agents.
The 2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
The Aston Martin gets a sleeker update in Pierce Brosnan’s final James Bond film, 2002’s Die Another Day. Several of 007’s past rides have had unique features, like remote controllability or transforming into a personal submarine. In the case of the V12 Vanquish, it was dubbed by Die Another Day’s Q (played by John Cleese) as the V12 “Vanish,” as it had a special piece of cloaking technology that turned the car invisible. In addition, this car had its own special cat-and-mouse chase, as Zao, the main henchman of the film’s villain Gustav Graves, had his own high-tech Jaguar XKR with thermal imaging.
The 2006 Aston Martin DBS V12
This next entry belongs to the most recent and modern Bond portrayal, Daniel Craig, as it debuted along with Craig in Casino Royale in 2006. Surprisingly, this model has fewer gadgets than the other cars before. Instead of missiles and tire spikes, this car’s only secrets are a small defibrillator and a special compartment that holds Bond’s Walther PPK pistol. While that does not seem like much, this car is more well-known for a completely different reason, as it is in the Guinness Book of World Records for the most consecutive flips/cannon rolls in a cinematic car crash (that number being 7).
The 2014 Aston Martin DB10
Due to the Aston Martin company’s relationship with the Bond franchise, they decided to go all out with this entry, as it is one of the few cars the manufacturer has made specifically for a Bond film. In the 2015 film Spectre, Craig’s Bond was introduced to the DB10, a model of Aston Martin that has been exclusively built for the movie in honor of the 50th anniversary of the DB5’s first appearance in Sean Connery’s era of James Bond films. Unfortunately, this model was never officially released to the public, and only 10 of these cars exist: eight used for filming and two being show cars.
This model was made to be more of an homage to Sean Connery’s DB5. It possesses many of the same gadgets and weapons that the DB5 itself had under its elegant exterior. This includes the return of the famous ejector seat. However, it still did have its own special tools that were not a feature of the DB5, the most prominent example being a concealed flamethrower that 007 used to battle Mr. Hinx (who was played by Dave Bautista from both Guardians of the Galaxy and Glass Onion), the primary henchmen of Spectre’s main villain, Ernst Blofeld (Christoph Waltz).
The 2018 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
This model was driven by 007, just not the 007 most people think of. Given that Daniel Craig’s James Bond had since retired after the events of Spectre, a new agent had taken up his 007 mantle in No Time to Die. This new 007 is named Nomi (played by Lashana Lynch from 2022’s The Woman King), and since she became the new holder of Bond’s former title, she had access to all the tech that Q had to offer, including a new Superleggera. Unfortunately, this car barely got enough screen time, so the awesome gadgets it most likely held sadly went unseen.
The 2023 Aston Martin Valhalla
This entry is more of an honorable mention than anything else, as James Bond, or anyone for that matter, never drove this Aston Martin. This is the brand new, yet-to-be-released Aston Martin Valhalla, whose debut to the public market is still a ways away. In No Time to Die, this sleek model was seen in a wind tunnel at MI6 as M, the head of the agency, was having a phone conversation with Bond about the newest threat: the Heracles nano-weapon developed by Valdo Obruchev. Although it would have been amazing to see Daniel Craig behind the wheel, sadly, it was not meant to be.
Why The DB5 Is James Bond’s Best Aston Martin
While many of these cars are surely magnificent in their own rights, when it comes to the best Aston Martin of them all, the DB5 is the clear winner. There’s a reason why it has made so many appearances throughout the James Bond franchise. The DB5 has become synonymous with Bond, not just because it has been around since Sean Connery’s portrayal of Bond, but it has also become the epitome of what a spy car should be. Its stylish make and deadly arsenal completely matches 007 and his essence of being a gentleman first and a killer second, and that’s why it’s become so iconic.
