![]() It’s fair to say that James Bond and Aston Martin are still synonymous with each other. Three cars were used in filming, an Aston Martin V8 Volante and two Aston Martin V8 coupes, all fitted with the same number plates supposedly intending to be seen as an Aston Martin V8 Volante fitted with a hardtop. An Aston Martin V8 features in the 1987 film “The Living Daylights” driven by Timothy Dalton. He first drove a DB5 in the 1964 film “Goldfinger” and a DBS in 1969’s “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”. The James Bond ConnectionĪston Martin has had a long relationship with James Bond. ![]() Production of the Aston Martin V8 ceased in 1989 when the model was replaced by the Virage. 967 cars were produced but the Series 3 suffered in performance to pass new stricter emission standards in California, with output falling from 310hp to 288hp. By far the most successful was Series 3 which was produced from 1973 to 1978. The Aston Martin V8 went through five series of development and manufacture up to 1989. Development included a new ZF gearbox, ventilated brake discs and air conditioning, all adding to an increase in weight of 113kg. Styling was modern with a squared-off grill, four headlights and removal of the classic wire wheels. With a 5.3L engine the Series 1 Aston Martin V8 had a maximum speed of almost 160 mph and could reach 0 to 60 mph in 5.9 seconds. Arguably the most iconic period started in 1947 when tractor manufacturer David Brown bought the company and developed the classic “DB” Marques. Aston Martin has had a chequered financial history and has been sold a number of times. The company reformed after the war and built around 55 cars up to 1926. The outbreak of World War One halted production and all the company’s machinery was sold to the Sopwith Aviation Company. The company was founded in 1913 and produced their first car in 1915 in Kensington, London. Volante is the name given to convertible versions of various Aston Martin automobile models from 1965 onwards. Every Aston Martin during this time was hand built with approximately 1200 hours required for each car. In 1973 the DBS V8 was restyled and renamed the Aston Martin V8 and became the company’s flagship car for nearly 20 years. In 1969 the V8 engine was put into production and the DBS V8 was launched. In 1967 the body was ready but the engine wasn’t, so the company launched the DBS using the straight-six engine from the DB6. For this reason, the film crew added incorrect Volante badges to an Aston Martin V8 Vantage coupe to complete the film.The Aston Martin V8 was an eight-cylinder luxury sports car manufactured from 1969 to 1989. The only problem was that Bond’s car wore Volante badges. They asked Aston Martin for a hardtop coupe and added a line in which Q says he “winterized” 007’s car. Aston Martin had badged this pre-production car as a Volante (convertible) but installed all the standard Vantage trim as well.Īfter the England scenes, the film crew planned an extended car chase in the mountains of Austria. The Vantage is a true European muscle car. The Vantage package was a trim level that included a more powerful engine. The prototype was the first convertible model of the Aston Martin V8 with the Vantage package. The company’s president offered his personal car, a pre-production prototype, for James Bond to drive to an MI6 meeting in the British countryside. So when Eon Productions sought a new James Bond car, the luxury manufacturer was interested. The Aston Martin company had experienced a dropoff in sales. A brand new Aston Martin was an excellent way to differentiate Dalton’s Bond from past iterations. RELATED: The Motorcycle Skills of Daniel Craig’s James Bond Impressed A Moto GP Championġ987’s James Bond film The The Living Daylights introduces a new actor as 007: Timothy Dalton. The first series of the Volante had basically the same enhanced specification as the ‘Oscar India’ coup which appeared four months later. Aston Martin's first 8-cylinder convertible made its long awaited appearance in June 1978, almost nine years after the launch of the DBS V8. ![]() ![]() 1987 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante | Tristan Fewings/Getty Images for EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Universal Pictures This original 1988 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante is one of just 167 X Pack Vantage Volante models constructed. MCN2032 Aston Martin's first 8-cylinder convertible, the V8 Volante.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |