…Well maybe but so it would also appear is the appeal of James Bond or 007 as he is known in the trade.
This year sees the centenary of the birth of Ian Fleming, author of the original books and ex-naval intelligence officer, and to celebrate this there was a small exhibition on the lawn of Goodwood House amongst the Cartier Style et Luxe Concours d’Elegance. Of course Fleming did not only write the series of Bond books but also Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. Sadly at Goodwood there was no sign of Van , we had to make do with the Wacky Racers.
The character of James Bond is synonymous with fast cars and stunning looking women, a very agreeable combination. Tailor made for Goodwood’s Festival of Speed and this proved popular with all the visitors.
In Goldfinger the Aston Martin DB5 made nearly as big an impact as did Sean Connery, who for us grey beards remains the definitive Bond…..
….So there it was on the lawn complete with a couple of Golden Girls but we missed Galore’s aerobatics. This car is one of the two that built after the film’s release to go on publicity tours and forms part of the Louwman Collection.
Aston Martin was also featured in the exhibit with a V8 Vantage from the 80’s complete with outriggers and two Political Commissars.
The plastic heat seeking missiles did not look particularly threatening and there was no evidence of the jet engine that starred in The Living Daylights.
Let’s not forget the last Aston Martin in the collection, a Vanquish that Pierce Brosnan drove in Die Another Day, apparently the third most popular film car ever…….no one asked me.
No weaponry was on display with the Vanquish but the two leather clad fencers looked as if they meant business.
007 has not always been faithful to Aston Martin, just as with his women, so a Lotus Essex Turbo Esprit in copper were the wheels of choice in For Your Eyes Only.
Another Esprit, an S1, featured in The Spy Who Loved Me but I am not sure of the significance of the armed guards around the car.
Completing the set was a beautiful Toyota 2000 GT from 1967 and seen in You Only Live Twice, an elegant reminder of the early days of the Japanese car industry.
Licensed to thrill………yes
-John Brooks
OFFICIAL SPEEDHUNTERS SUPPLIERS
stuff that needs fixing: (:P)
it's Pierce Brosnan, not Piers,
and the film was not The Living Daylights (which was from 1987) but instead Die Another Day iirc
great photos otherwise!
The Toyota is the only topless 2000GT, I think. They had to make it a convertible because the actor couldn't fit in the car.
Yo "BlueSlug" Brooks San Is refering to the Above picture of the aston V8 Vantage (1980's) when he mentions the film: The Living Daylights. And yes there was a v8 vantage with stinger missiles in that movie... the missiles cam in handy when a truck was blocking the road and 007 needed to "separate it out of the way. Wach the film its a good one.