The Aston Martin DB5 that has offered British super-spy James Bond with a much-loved iconic car since 1964 is now being reconstructed for avid collectors — at a price tag of $3.5 million.
“We’re part of a legend. DB5 is a legend,” said Mark Reichman, Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer, recalling the moment the car popped up in “Spectre,” the latest Bond film. “There was a cheer in the theater, you know, it’s like great. Bond is back in a DB5 yet again.”
As CBS News’ Charlie D’Agata reports, only 25 of the timeless models are being built. They are “continuity cars,” instead of replicas, and each one is handmade using the same materials and techniques, including the vehicle’s lightweight aluminum body.
Featured in seven of the James Bond movies such as 1964’s “Goldfinger,” 1993’s “Goldeneye” and 2012’s “Skyfall,” the car has outlasted every actor to play 007.
“It’s outlived many Bonds because it has a stronger character,” said Reichman. “And visually’s it’s got that character — it’s got eyes, it’s got a face. It has language and it has a presence.”
While it does not have the spy vehicle’s machine guns and ejector seat, the new DB5 has replicated toys such as revolving number plates, smoke machines, and plastic cylinders acting as “toy guns.”
Creating the vehicle itself, according to D’Agata, is a “lost art.”
“You want to sort of caress the material into shape as opposed to bashing it into shape. That’s the real art,” said panel beater Charlie Briggs.
Overall, painting just one of the 25 models takes 400 hours.
While not street-legal, the vehicle is a collector’s treasure, with a huge price tag.
