The Most Famous Car In The World

The Aston Martin DB5 is often referred to as the most famous car in the world. Not sure when did this tagline became associated with the Aston but I suspect that it was from Dave Worrall's book "The Most Famous Car in the World: The Complete History of the James Bond Aston Martin DB5."


It is not difficult to see why, even by standards of star cars, the Aston actually had very little screen time - 13 minutes in total in two James Bond franchise movies - Goldfinger and Thunderball. BMC's Mini and VW's Beetle would have far more screen time in the orignal Italian Job and Herbie respectively. Not forgetting Knight Rider's Pontiac Trans Am.

In fact, none of the later Bond movie cars ever enjoyed the same level of synonymity with James Bond - not the later model Astons like the V8 Vantage in The Living Daylights or the DBS in On Her Majesty's Secret Service, or the Vanquish in Die Another Day. Neither did Lotus Esprit in The Spy Who Loved Me and certainly not the many BMW models when Pierce Brosnan was playing Bond in the 1990s. The fact that the DB5 even made cameo appearances in Michael Craig's Casino Royale proved the endearing value of the DB5, a small effort by the movie directors to pay homage to the now cliche "the most famous car in the world."


Back in 2010, an original Aston Martin DB5, the exact same car used in the Bond movie was auctioned off by RM Auctions, the most famous auction house for classic cars, for 2.9 million British pounds. Actually there was more than one James Bond Aston Martin DB5, four of them in fact. Only two of them (referred to as the Effects Car and Road Car) were actually used in the film making, while the other two were promo cars commissioned by the movie's production company, Eon, to market the Bond film (Show Cars).

The show cars were never used on the film set, but were transported across USA to promote James Bond movies. They were however kitted out with all the gadgets used in the actual movie cars. The effects car was used on the film for close-ups or shots when those Bond's gadgets were being deployed while the road car was actually a standard DB5 with no gadgets installed. The effects car, heavily laden with all gadgets would be too cumbersome and even risky (total installation cost of the gadgets were five times the cost of the car) to be used on some of the fast car chase sequence that required agile handling. Below is a summary of four of the most famous car in the world.

Show cars
Chassis number DB5/2008/R and DB5/2017/R.


The two show cars - car 2008 on the left with registration number YRE 186H, identified with a slight dent at its rear bumper, still evident today. On the right is car 2017, wearing the BMT 216A registration plate, transfered from the original effects car (more on that later).

Car number 2008 was last sold to an unknown private buyer for 2.1 million US dollars back in 2006, again by RM Auctions. While car number 2017 now sits in the Dutch National Motor Museum.

Both show cars started life as promo cars, spending most of their time at the back of trailers. The two show cars were sold in 1969 to Sir Anthony Bamford, boss of tractor maker JCB. Within the same year, car 2017 was swapped for a Ferrari 250 GTO with one Kenneth Luscombe-Whyte.

Luscombe-Whyte was known to intentionally park his car at an illegal parking spot in central London, where he then hide and wait for a traffic warden to write his car a parking ticket and leave. He would then play a prank on the officer by operating the revolving number plate device fitted in the car, for the traffic warden to return later only to find the exact same Aston parked in the exact same spot but with a different number plate. Car 2017 was resold to a few more unknown private buyers but would eventually end up in the Dutch museum.

Car 2008 was sold in 1971 for 5000 pounds to Bruce Atchley’s Smoky Mountain Car Museum in Tennessee. It was again sold to another private owner who held on to it until its sale in 2006 by RM Auctions.

The car in series of photos below are from DB5/2008/R, with registration number YRE 186H.

Tyre slasher - one of the few gadgets that didn't actually work. It was merely bolted to the wheel hub rather than extended at the flick of a switch.

Radar receiver is another.

Bulletproof screen, made from duralumin, can be raised from inside the car. It is hydraulic in the actual effects car used in the movie but is operated electrically in this show car.

The console box where all the gadgets are deployed.

Oil spray from the rear tail lamp. The "oil" is actually a mixture of water and vegetable dye, propelled by compressed nitrogen released by an electromagnetic valve.

Not sure if the faux car phone actually works.

YRE 186H is the actual number plate. JB 007 and 007 JB were dummy plates.


Effects car - the most valuable of all
Chassis number DP/216/1

Out of these 4 James Bond Aston Martin DB5, the most valuable of them all was the effects car, chassis number DP/216/1. Sharp eyed readers will notice that the chassis numbers were different from the other DB5 show cars. This was because the DB5 effects cars wasn't really a DB5. It was actually a prototype pre-production DB5, built off a late model DB4. At that time, Aston Martin Lagonda, the parent company wasn't in the best financial health and product placement deals wasn't even a known marketing term in the 1960s. So it was decided that DP/216/1, seen by the company to have very little commercial value and having already done its test and validation duties, will be loaned to the film maker. The car was registered with the number plate BMT 216A, the exact same number plate seen in Goldfinger.



It also had all the gadgets from Q. Yes most of them actually worked, except for items like the fake radar receive, tyre slasher and the passenger ejector seat which obviously no one wants to try it. But after the movie was done, DP/216/1 had all the gadgets stripped out and the car was returned to its original works (British term for factory) specifications. The car was then sold to Gavin Keyzar with number plate 6633 PP in August 1968. On hindsight, seeing how popular the Bond franchise became, it was a massively short sighted move by the management of Aston Martin. Oddly, the management saw more value in the number plate BMT 216A than the actual car itself. The registration number BMT 216A was then transferred to show car DB5/2017/R. Unfortunately the original effects car was stolen from its storage location in 1997; from an aircraft hangar in Florida. Sadly this car was never recovered. Insurance settlement was rumored to be in excess of USD 4 million! No one knows what happened to DP/216/1, but if it really was scrapped, it was an insanely stupid move by the thiefs. But even if it is still surviving, hidden somewhere, it's illegal status will make it difficult to be put out to the market again.

Road car
Chassis number DB5/1486/R

The only other surviving Bond DB5 that was actually driven by Sean Connery himself was road car chassis number DB5/1486/R. The car had registration FMP 7B and has been owned by only a single owner; American radio celebrity Jerry Lee from 1964, when Lee bought the car directly from Aston Martin works, until its sale in October 2010, again by RM Auctions. The car was sold for 2.9 million British Pounds.


It's hard to imagine another star movie car that will achieve the kind of status of the DB5. Starsky and Hutch's Ford Gran Torino, The Dukes of Hazzard Dodge Charger, Magnum P.I.'s Ferrari 308 GTS and A-Team's GMC van are well known but lacked recognition outside the English speaking world. David Hasselhoff's KITT Pontiac Trans Am may also be well known but it's not something that people recall in revered tones. The orange Toyota Supra from Fast and Furious lacks the right image to appreciate in value, same goes to the blue R34 Nissan Skyline GT-R (it is in fact a GT-S modded up with GT-R parts) in 2 Fast 2 Furious.

In my opinion the only other car that could vie with the Aston for the title of the most famous car in the world is the Mini from Italian Job. But I wonder how much of the Mini's popularity was due to the movie's influence rather than its low price and mass market appeal. Plus, how could the world forget Irishmen rally driver Paddy Hopkirk's giant slaying drive in the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally with his red Mini Cooper S, registration 33 EJB, winning against much more powerful cars.

Winning the 1964 Monte Carlo Rally

Almost 20 years before Suzuki works rally team's Nobuhiro "Monster" Tajima would become synonymous with giant slaying rally drives in a small underpowered car, Paddy Hopkirk was the original "monster" rally driver, with 33 EJB - the most famous Mini in the world.


Octane magazine did a detailed article on Bond's DB5, you may read them here, but the print issue had far more details and pictures.

See also Top 20 Car Chase Scenes in Movies