Model Details

Aston’s new Bond car offers an insight into the its future models. Those iconic Bond moments are seared into the consciousness of millions.

Sean Connery awakening to Pussy Galore, Ursula Andress emerging from the sea, Halle Berry emerging from the sea… Oh, the cars. Yep. Love the cars. And the car chases. That one with the red Mini through Paris. Amazing. Actually, I think that was Bourne. What about that incredible sequence with the E34 M5 3.6-litre, turbine alloys – it’s all in the detail and Peugeot 406? Hang on. Nope, that was Ronin. The Mustang? Oh god, that wasn’t Bond either.

I’m not sure if anyone from the male species is allowed to say this, but I’m going to anyway: I’m not a massive Bond fan. Oh sure, I’ll watch a Bond film on ITV4 if necessary, but I don’t know my Dr No from my Octopussy, my Quantum of Solace from my, um, hold on, let me just Google ‘Bond films’ Skyfall. I do remember Jaws on a space station, though, and Roger Moore with the Union Jack parachute, so I’m not totally Bond ignorant. And of course, like the rest of the universe, I vividly recall Q flipping up the black Bakelite gearknob of that DB5 and telling 007 never to touch the red button within.

Despite my patchy knowledge, the idea of driving a Bond car remains something to prize. Especially if it isn’t a Z3. That really happened, didn’t it? Anyway, the Aston Martin DB10 is a proper Bond car: beautiful, bespoke and rippling with an elegant aggression. Just ten were built for the filming of Spectre and today we’ll be driving one on Millbrook Proving Ground’s Hill Route.

Despite this car being expected at the film premiere around a month from now, the only restriction imposed upon us is that we don’t fly it off the infamous Millbrook yump. A kind man from Aston Martin even peels back the passenger footwell carpet to show us where the traction-control button is located.

Under that carpet and beneath the clean, shimmering carbonfibre lines isn’t a new DB11 the DB9 replacement or the next-generation V8 Vantage chassis fitted with the new AMG-sourced twin-turbocharged V8 engine. The DB10 is instead based on a V8 Vantage S with that razor-sharp 4.7-litre V8 engine, a six-speed manual gearbox and fixed-rate dampers.

Yep, a six-speed manual, as requested by director Sam Mendes, who wanted to create a tangible link with the original, Silver Birch DB5 in Goldfinger that consummated the Bond/Aston Martin marriage, now celebrating its 50th anniversary. For a car that signals so much about Aston Martin’s future, the underpinnings are resolutely old-school. The car isn’t pure V8 Vantage, however, as it runs a 70mm longer wheelbase and a wider track to make sense of the broad shoulders. The DB10 is nearly as wide as a One-77.