007

Concept Car, Events, Sports Car

James Bond’s Aston Martin sells for £2.4million

An incredibly rare Aston Martin DB10 made for the latest James Bond film Spectre, sold under the hammer for an amazing £2,434,500.

The auction at Christie’s will provide funds to the Medecins Sans Frontieres charity. The bidding was described as ‘tense and exciting’ before a final bid of an whopping £2,434,500.

The buyer now owns a true piece of automotive history; the only Aston Martin DB10 to be made available for public sale. Celebrating the British brand’s half century with Bond, which started with the iconic DB5, the DB10 gives a glimpse of the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins. Production of the DB10 was strictly limited to 10 models of the bespoke sports car which was developed and hand-built by the designers, engineers and artisan craftspeople at Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters in the UK for the latest Bond film, Spectre.

Eight of the DB10’s were modified for filming, but two of those produced were kept back as show cars for display purposes only and the DB10 auctioned is one of them.

The money raised by the auction will benefit Medecins Sans Frontieres. MSF - or ‘Doctors without Borders’ – is a global humanitarian aid organisation that provides medical care and support to victims of armed conflict, epidemics and other disasters.

Aston Martin CEO Dr Andy Palmer said: “The DB10 is one of the rarest cars ever created. Only 10 will ever be made and this is the only one that will be made available for sale. It’s great to see this DB10 raising vital funds for Medecins Sans Frontieres, it is a fantastic charity that we are delighted to support”.

‘James Bond Spectre – The Live Auction’, was a unique collection of 10 lots which raised a total of £2,785,500 on the night. A further 14 lots are available in the online sale, which continues until 23 February, celebrating the release of the 24th Bond film on Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD.

Auction, Concept Car, Sports Car, News

James Bond’s Aston Martin DB10 up for auction

A unique Aston Martin DB10, made for James Bond in 'Spectre' is to be auctioned for charity.

The Aston Martin DB10 – the first bespoke car created for James Bond by Aston Martin – is to go under the auctioneer’s gavel at Christie’s in London, with proceeds donated to Medecins Sans Frontieres. The only car to date in the rarest DB lineage to be made available for private ownership, the auction offers a very rare opportunity to own a piece of automotive history with bids almost certainly to go over the £1-million mark.

The auction of the only DB10 to date to be made available for private ownership celebrates the release of the 24th Bond film ‘Spectre’ on Digital HD, Blu-ray and DVD with 24 special auction lots going under the hammer for charity, led by the DB10.

Celebrating the British brand’s half century of working with Bond, which started with the DB5, the DB10 gives a glimpse of the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins. Production of the DB10 was strictly limited to ten examples of the bespoke sports car which was developed and hand-built by the designers, engineers and ‘artisan craftspeople’ at Aston Martin’s Gaydon headquarters in the UK for the latest Bond film.

The DB10 features a 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine and six-speed manual gearbox, with Aston Martin saying it ‘has an estimated top speed of around 190 mph’. The car features an all carbon fibre exterior, while the interior has been handmade using fine luxury leathers, carbon fibre and aluminium.

Most of the DB10s were modified for use in the filming of Spectre, but the DB10 offered at Christie’s is one of only two “show” cars, which were left unmodified and used for display purposes. This DB10 took pride of place at the world premiere of Spectre at the Royal Albert Hall in London and has been signed by James Bond himself, Daniel Craig.

The auction will take place on 18th February at Christie’s King Street auction house in London.

Vintage Car, News

James Bond posters to go under the hammer

Auctioneers Coys are selling a collection of rare James Bond film posters and memorabilia at their "True Greats" auction on December 1.

The sale will feature posters from iconic productions such as Thunderball, Her Majesty's Secret Service, The World is Not Enough, Octopussy, You Only Live Twice, Dr No, Goldfinger and SPECTRE. The release of the latest Bond film last month has spiked interest, proving the 007 franchise is as popular as ever.

Perhaps the most anticipated item to go on sale is the rare 1965 Thunderball poster, which is estimated from £8,000 to £10,000. "Originally designed in four panel format, intended to be cut into two or four for the cinema to use around the advertising area, this particular version was never cut into sections and is one of the finest examples available." said, Adrian Cowdry, vintage poster specialist at Coys.

A limited edition SPECTRE poster that was designed for the cast and crew of the film will also feature and is estimated to fetch between £700 to £800.

There will also be a number of first edition Bond novels on sale, including Man with the Golden Gun, Octopussy and On Her Majesty's Secret Service, estimated at £150 to £500. 

Also on sale is a 1928 Supercharged Bentley Blower. Long before Ian Fleming placed James Bond at the wheel of an Aston Martin, he had 007 thundering around in a Bentley in the early novels.

Coys' "True Greats" auction takes place on Tuesday 1 December 2015 at 3pm at the Royal Horticultural Society, Lindley Hall, Vincent Square, Westminster, London, SW1P 2PE.

Viewing is available on Monday 30 November and on the day of the sale from 10am.

 

Concept Car, Coupe, Sports Car, News

007's Aston Martin DB10 set for Regent Street Motor Show

Following the premiere of the new Bond film Spectre, 007's latest car - the bespoke Aston Martin DB10 - will be one of the star attractions of the annual free-to-view Regent Street Motor Show in London.

Created specially for the movie, the hand-built DB10 is the latest in a long line of Aston Martins to have been driven by UK's favourite secret agent. Bond's first Aston was the famous DB5 from Goldfinger in 1964. As well as the DB10, Aston Martin will also be displaying a number of cars from its current model range including the latest DB9 GT, limited edition Vantage GT12 and a four-door Rapide S.

Enticing as many as 350,000 visitors last year, London's premier shopping street is closed to traffic for the day to allow cars from the past, present and future to be displayed. The Show's centrepiece will be a display of more than 100 veteran cars all taking part in the EFG International Concours d'Elegance. Many owners and their passengers will be in period costume, preparing themselves for the famous Bonhams London to Brighton Veteran Car Run, which sets off from nearby Hyde Park early the following morning (Sunday, 1 November).

The veterans will be rubbing shoulders with classic cars, bikes, new cars and futuristic 'low or no' emission electric and hybrid vehicles. The latter display is backed by two organisations helping to shape our motoring future - Go Ultra Low and Transport for London (TfL).

The Regent Street Motor Show takes place from 10:30 until 16:00 on Saturday 31 October and is just one element in the Royal Automobile Club's London Motor Week, seven days when the capital honours cars.