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The best Bond cars ever, part 6: the Aston Martin DB10

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The best Bond cars ever, part 6: the Aston Martin DB10 | Top Gear

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The best Bond cars ever, part 6: the Aston Martin DB10

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The best Bond cars ever, part 6: the Aston Martin DB10

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“James Bond is a blunt instrument wielded by a government department,” his creator Ian Fleming noted. “He is quiet, hard, ruthless, sardonic and fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf and fast motor cars.”

Fleming’s character co-ordinates would be well-observed and liberally interpreted across the 24 films the world’s highest- profile fictional spy has appeared in over the past 58 years.

Now, Bond 25 is imminent. No Time To Die arrives in cinemas this week, allowing Daniel Craig to flex his actorly muscles as he signs off from playing 007, putting him through the emotional wringer, while the film’s stunt crew and production designers reimagine the very essence of a car chase yet again. Apparently No Time To Die features the most brutal one ever seen in a Bond movie. Which made us think. Six actors have played 007 on the big screen, and they’ve all had carefully cast automotive co-stars.

In fact, for many of us, watching a Bond film on the TV at a formative age is one of the reasons we became consumed by cars in the first place. The ginormous global 007 fan base endlessly debates who the best Bond is, but which Bond had the coolest car? Choosing one per actor, Top Gear gathered the key vehicles together in the same part of the space-time continuum to explore their history, and conduct a quasi-scientific but mostly subjective test. Finally, Craig's gorgeous DB10 takes the spotlight...

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Photography: Mark Riccioni and John Wycherley

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In Spectre, Bond goes bespoke. Never mind Q’s various modifications, this time 007 ends up with a clean-sheet car, the DB10. Originally allocated to 009, Bond snaffles it, uses it to gatecrash an emergency meeting of the world’s most evil villains, gets embroiled in a startling car chase through the streets of Rome, unleashes a flamethrower, then parks his Aston at high speed in the River Tiber having just parachuted to safety. Hell of a test drive.

Ten DB10s were created for Spectre, three hero cars and seven stunt units, each running a set-up according to its role in the chase sequence. The one you see here is a seriously naughty-sounding, super-slidey example, beefed-up with a roll cage and a hydraulic handbrake sprouting out of the centre console.

Effectively a 2006–18 Vantage underneath, it moves with the same urgency as a Vantage GT4 race car I once hammered around Paul Ricard – only with less grip. It’s clearly had a tough life, but it also feels, um, bulletproof. Over to Aston Martin’s chief creative officer Marek Reichman on how it came to pass.

We went from a sketch to 10 working cars in six months

“We were trying to do what we did with the DBS. We had the DB11 all lined up to show [the Bond bosses], because we hadn’t launched it yet. So I was explaining how it was a continuation from the DBS in Casino Royale, and Sam [Mendes, director] thought it was wonderful and Barbara [Broccoli, producer] said ‘these guys always do great cars.’ But I could see in Sam’s face he wasn’t 100 per cent sold on it, that he wanted something different.

“And as we were leaving, he spotted a sketch on the wall, a car I described as more of a hunter, more aggressive, a bit hedonistic, perhaps. His eyes lit up, and he said, ‘It sounds like the Bond I want to create.’ But I said, ‘Yep, but it doesn’t exist, and you need the cars by September and it’s April now, so there’s not much chance of that.’ And he said, ‘Why not?’ So we did it – we went from a sketch to 10 working cars in six months. Sam wanted a very simple graphic, which is why the cooling was done as a dot matrix on the bonnet. I said to him, ‘People will look at this car, and if it doesn’t vent air and suck air, they’re going to say it’s not real, it’s an electric car, it doesn’t really work.’ But he knew what he wanted, and it was brilliant working with him. And it’s definitely real.”

Gadgets: 7/10
Speed: 9/10
Pulling power: 7/10
Skids: 9/10
Stunts: 8/10
Star status: 7/10
Total: 47

So, that's your lot, and the DB5 sneaks a win by a single point. Remind yourself of the best ever Bond cars via these links: Click here for the DB5, here for the DBS, here for the Lotus Esprit, here for the Aston V8, and here for the BMW Z8.

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“James Bond is a blunt instrument wielded by a government department,” his creator Ian Fleming noted. “He is quiet, hard, ruthless, sardonic and fatalistic. He likes gambling, golf and fast motor cars.”

Fleming’s character co-ordinates would be well-observed and liberally interpreted across the 24 films the world’s highest- profile fictional spy has appeared in over the past 58 years.

Now, Bond 25 is imminent. No Time To Die arrives in cinemas this week, allowing Daniel Craig to flex his actorly muscles as he signs off from playing 007, putting him through the emotional wringer, while the film’s stunt crew and production designers reimagine the very essence of a car chase yet again. Apparently No Time To Die features the most brutal one ever seen in a Bond movie. Which made us think. Six actors have played 007 on the big screen, and they’ve all had carefully cast automotive co-stars.

In fact, for many of us, watching a Bond film on the TV at a formative age is one of the reasons we became consumed by cars in the first place. The ginormous global 007 fan base endlessly debates who the best Bond is, but which Bond had the coolest car? Choosing one per actor, Top Gear gathered the key vehicles together in the same part of the space-time continuum to explore their history, and conduct a quasi-scientific but mostly subjective test. Finally, Craig's gorgeous DB10 takes the spotlight...

---

Photography: Mark Riccioni and John Wycherley

In Spectre, Bond goes bespoke. Never mind Q’s various modifications, this time 007 ends up with a clean-sheet car, the DB10. Originally allocated to 009, Bond snaffles it, uses it to gatecrash an emergency meeting of the world’s most evil villains, gets embroiled in a startling car chase through the streets of Rome, unleashes a flamethrower, then parks his Aston at high speed in the River Tiber having just parachuted to safety. Hell of a test drive.

Ten DB10s were created for Spectre, three hero cars and seven stunt units, each running a set-up according to its role in the chase sequence. The one you see here is a seriously naughty-sounding, super-slidey example, beefed-up with a roll cage and a hydraulic handbrake sprouting out of the centre console.

Effectively a 2006–18 Vantage underneath, it moves with the same urgency as a Vantage GT4 race car I once hammered around Paul Ricard – only with less grip. It’s clearly had a tough life, but it also feels, um, bulletproof. Over to Aston Martin’s chief creative officer Marek Reichman on how it came to pass.

We went from a sketch to 10 working cars in six months

“We were trying to do what we did with the DBS. We had the DB11 all lined up to show [the Bond bosses], because we hadn’t launched it yet. So I was explaining how it was a continuation from the DBS in Casino Royale, and Sam [Mendes, director] thought it was wonderful and Barbara [Broccoli, producer] said ‘these guys always do great cars.’ But I could see in Sam’s face he wasn’t 100 per cent sold on it, that he wanted something different.

“And as we were leaving, he spotted a sketch on the wall, a car I described as more of a hunter, more aggressive, a bit hedonistic, perhaps. His eyes lit up, and he said, ‘It sounds like the Bond I want to create.’ But I said, ‘Yep, but it doesn’t exist, and you need the cars by September and it’s April now, so there’s not much chance of that.’ And he said, ‘Why not?’ So we did it – we went from a sketch to 10 working cars in six months. Sam wanted a very simple graphic, which is why the cooling was done as a dot matrix on the bonnet. I said to him, ‘People will look at this car, and if it doesn’t vent air and suck air, they’re going to say it’s not real, it’s an electric car, it doesn’t really work.’ But he knew what he wanted, and it was brilliant working with him. And it’s definitely real.”

Gadgets: 7/10
Speed: 9/10
Pulling power: 7/10
Skids: 9/10
Stunts: 8/10
Star status: 7/10
Total: 47

So, that's your lot, and the DB5 sneaks a win by a single point. Remind yourself of the best ever Bond cars via these links: Click here for the DB5, here for the DBS, here for the Lotus Esprit, here for the Aston V8, and here for the BMW Z8.

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Six cars, one per Bond era and an overall winner. Farewell, Mr Craig