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| Photo Credit: Aston Martin The Americas |
It seems James Bond is always running or chasing something. Piloting jet aircraft, boats, jet skis and even a lunar vehicle from a fabricated sound stage, cars are the best known means of moving a world-saving spy in whatever locale on the globe he lands. British luxury car maker Aston Martin owes their entire company image on their appearance in the movie franchise first with the DB5 and with subsequent models used over decades. Spectre, last year's continuation of the movie saga starring Daniel Craig playing British secret agent codenamed '007', contained a custom-made Aston Martin racing in high-suspense scenes. The Aston Martin DB10 was a hand-built sports car created specifically for the movie. A marriage of carbon fiber and aluminum, the alluring British vehicle is set in motion by a 4.7-liter V-8 engine and six-speed manual transmission permitting top speeds of 190 miles per hour.
Despite being a world-renowned super spy, James Bond is really a humble civil servant who would likely never afford many of the Q Branch-modified vehicles he frequently brings back in pieces. With only 10 examples of the Aston Martin DB10 made for the recently released James Bond movie Spectre, one question has to be asked regarding a potential real-life owner of the British sports car; who would buy the sole publicly available DB10? On Thursday, February 18th at a planned sale staged by famed London auction house Christie's, the question was answered in a manner that may prove difficult for many of us to afford; even if we would life twice.
One of only two Aston Martin DB10's left unmodified for filming of Spectre, the supercar fetched an astonishing £2,434,500 (translating to roughly $4.8 million converted against the current Canadian currency). Sold as a collectors items and display item only, the Aston Martin DB10's special construction meant the vehicle could not be approved for use on public roads.
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| Photo Credit: Aston Martin The Americas |
Despite the amount totalling to what almost seems like an extortion figure presented by arch Bond villain Blofeld, there is the peace of mind that the money raised is going in a good cause. Humanitarian charity Médecins Sans Frontières or better known as Doctors Without Borders will be able to use to proceeds of the James Bond-popularized Aston Martin DB10's sale in the devotion of sending real-life heroes in their international missions.
Part of a James Bond Spectre live auction containing in total 10 live auction lots and 14 on-line items, the DB10 was going to be major instrument to the fundraising. However, similar to how James Bond can pull off impossible feats, the non-street legal car surpassed expectations. Predicted to raise over a million UK Pounds for charity last month, the sale of the DB10 reached a near all-time high as the vehicle raised nearly 2.5 times more than estimates. In total, the charity auction brought in £2,785,500 for Médecins Sans Frontières.
The sale of the ultra rare Aston Martin DB10 built for Spectre is one of several recent auction sales of famous Bond cars for a great sum. In 2010, an iconic Aston Martin DB5 used on-scene for Goldfinger snapped-up £2,912,000 (working out to about $4.751 million Canadian). Three years later, a studio-built Wet Nellie underwater diving Lotus Esprit seen in "The Spy Who Love Me" was bought by Tesla Motors kingpin for £550,000 (just under $900,000 Canadian at the time) from an English RM Auctions sale.
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