DBS: Licensed to thrill

Unfortunately there are no rocket launchers in the new James Bond car. The Aston Martin DBS that Bond drives in Quantum of Solace, (in Quantum Silver, of course), doesn’t even have a defibrillator hidden in the glovebox like the last model.

In fact, the nearest thing to a Bond gadget are the B&O speakers that emerge from the dash when you start the ignition. Even the Jaeger-LeCoultre watch that remotely turns on the lights and unlocks the car is available to all real-world DBS owners.

Still, you can live without an ejector seat when the car’s this fabulous. Several stunt Astons were trashed during the chase sequences for Quantum, but this DBS is one of just three “hero” cars that were kept intact.

To fire it up, you need to engage what Aston calls the “emotion control unit.” Sounds pretentious, but that’s what you’re doing — plug this stainless steel and sapphire starter fob into the dash and your heart jumps as it lets rip a mighty, throaty roar.

To remind you of your sophisticated choice of vehicle, “beauty power soul” appears on the speedometer as the engine starts to rumble.

And while the handcrafted interior, complete with piano black leather and solid aluminum is alluring, really it’s the engine that’s the star here.

With its menacing face and athletic rear haunches, this elegant car looks both macho and sophisticated, and the performance is the same.

A gentle nudge and James Bond’s car is launching me through the country roads around Aston’s factory in central England and with the close gears, I’m eagerly testing the car’s cornering, which, of course, is immaculate. This car might look and feel heavy, but it’s agile, and in its sports mode, it stiffens up like an adrenaline-pumping panther ready to go in for the kill.

Which is basically what the car does on command. With acceleration like this it’s easy to see why one of the Quantum of Solace stuntmen ended up taking off into Lake Garda in one of these cars.

You can’t buy this car, of course, but you can own your own DBS if you want to drive like James Bond. Just don’t forget that MI6 won’t be picking up your bill if you dent it.

Aston Martin DBS
Price: from $293,400
0-100 kmph: 4.3 sec
Top speed: 307 km/h
Engine: 6 litre, V12
Fuel Consumption: 16.4 l/100 km

Top 3 Bond cars
Aston Martin DB5, Goldfinger, 1964
Features ejector seat, revolving licence plates, slasher hubcaps, machine-guns behind the headlights.


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Lotus Esprit, The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977
Features missiles, torpedoes, underwater driving mode.





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Aston Martin V8 Volante, The Living Daylights, 1987
Takes on the Russians with missile launcher, rockets, hubcap-concealed laser and retractable tire spikes.