10 Crucial Features The Aston Martin DB12 Goldfinger Edition Is Missing

Aston Martin, more specifically its bespoke customization “Q” division, has released a very special variant of the DB12 dubbed the Goldfinger edition. It celebrates the very first appearance of the iconic DB5 in a James Bond film, 1964’s Goldfinger. This is not the first time Aston has paid homage to the movie: five years ago, a Continuation DB5, complete with (some) working gadgets, was unveiled, although unlike the DB12 Goldfinger, it was not street legal.

While, on the mechanical front, the DB12 has not undergone any changes from the standard model, there are a number of unique features that pay homage to the legendary movie franchise and set this DB12 apart from the rest. The Goldfinger DB12 will be a limited-run car, with only 60 units produced.

However, despite all its extra cosmetic features and unique Silver Birch paint finish that echoes the original DB5, the DB12 Goldfinger sadly does not come with any of the gadgets that had made the original car famous on the silver screen. If you were hoping to get a real car equipped with an ejector seat or a machine gun, you’ll be disappointed (although another Bond car with fictional abilities, the amphibious “Wet Nellie” Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me, is reportedly being recreated with full submersible capabilities by none other than Elon Musk). Here are some of the fictional features Bond’s DB5 was equipped with, along with the (less destructive but still exciting) features of the new DB12 Goldfinger.

1 Revolving Number Plate

When Q introduces Bond to his new wheels, after stating that his Bentley has “had its day, I’m afraid”, he presents this set of revolving number plates as being “valid in all countries”. This wasn’t strictly true: the plates were simply valid in all countries Bond visited during the movie, i.e. the UK, France, and Switzerland. The DB5 sported three different plates, one for each country, aimed at blending in and keeping a low profile. (Not that it’s very easy to do that for a DB5.)

2 Ejector Seat

The most cinematically spectacular gadget fitted on the car, the iconic ejector seat, is activated by a button hidden in the gear lever. When we first encounter this gadget in Q’s workshop, Bond is instructed not to touch the button, but later in the film, he finds a very good reason to do so, dispatching pursuing enemies while being chased around the titular character’s factory. Shortly after the ejector seat is deployed, the DB5 unfortunately meets its on-screen demise after being crashed into a brick wall.

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3 Wheel-Destroying Blades

These wheel-destroying blades pop out of the DB5’s wheels to shred the tires of an opponent’s car when in close pursuit. At the start of the movie, after Goldfinger has killed his secretary by covering her in gold paint, her sister attempts to shoot him while driving her Ford Mustang, but misses and nearly shoots Bond instead. Attempting to obtain information, Bond gets closer to the Mustang and uses the wheel-destroying blades to bring her to a stop.

4 Smokescreen

The smokescreen, one of the most iconic car gadgets in cinematic history, got an opportunity to be deployed in one of the movie’s chase scenes: after accidentally alerting Goldfinger’s security guards to his presence, Bond uses the smokescreen to confuse them and make them crash into a nearby tree.

5 Oil Dispenser

The smokescreen was only enough to get rid of one of the pursuing security cars, and Bond has to use yet another of the DB5’s features to get rid of the other one. Spraying oil from the back of the DB5, this gadget creates a slippery surface that sends the enemy car into a skid and off the edge of a cliff.

6 Bulletproof Glass And Shield

The DB5 wouldn’t be a Bond car if it couldn’t withstand the occasional attack, and thanks to its bulletproof glass in the windscreen, side windows, and rear windows, it does so more than once throughout the movie. Additionally to the bulletproof glass, there is also a solid iron screen which is capable of sustaining more prolonged damage while protecting the glass underneath: this is used in the same chase scene as the smokescreen and oil dispenser, as further security guards appear.

7 GPS Tracking Dashboard

One of the most ahead-of-its-time tech features for the era, this GPS dashboard looks surprisingly modern in terms of functionality, albeit with a retro aesthetic and feel. Cleverly concealed behind a trim panel, it allowed Bond to track Goldfinger’s movements via a homing device (what we would call a GPS tracker today) he had previously implanted in the trunk of his Rolls-Royce.

8 Hidden Weapon Drawer

Bond’s DB5 may be a sports car, but it is nothing if not practical, and that includes clever use of storage space. A hidden drawer, tucked away beneath the driver’s seat, keeps Bond’s weapons out of sight from prying eyes but ready to access quickly when in a spot of trouble.

9 Machine Guns

Aside from the weapons stored in the hidden drawer, the DB5 also came equipped with some firepower of its own, thanks to concealed machine guns ready to pop out of its front end at the push of a button. These also appear in the iconic chase scene with Goldfinger’s security guards, although they are employed by mistake as Bond is tricked into thinking the reflection of his headlights is in fact another car. The switches that operated the machine guns were hidden in the DB5’s arm rest, along with the controls for other features such as the smokescreen and the oil slick dispenser.

10 Radio Telephone

This device was installed on the car, but never actually made an appearance in the movie. Although instant connectivity while on the move is now the norm, in the early 60s in-car communication was still very much in its infancy, and a gadget like a radio telephone, allowing a driver or passenger to make a phone call from a moving vehicle, was more the stuff of science-fiction than of reality. Eventually, as technology made progress through the decades, the in-car telephone went from Bond gadget to real-world device.

The DB5’s Other Appearances

Goldfinger may have been the first Bond film to feature an Aston Martin DB5, but it certainly was not the last. The same car, complete with fictional gadgets, reappeared only a year later in the franchise’s following movie, Thunderball.

It would take another thirty years before a DB5 made an appearance in a Bond movie; this time, however, it was not the same car, but rather a gadget-free DB5 shown to be Bond’s personal vehicle, in 1995’s GoldenEye. The only unusual, but far more realistic, features this car was fitted with were a champagne cooler and a fax machine. After GoldenEye, Bond entered his short-lived BMW era.

The most recent Bond movies also featured a DB5, bearing the registration of the original ’60s car as a tribute. This particular car made appearances in three of the Daniel Craig movies: Skyfall, Spectre, and No Time To Die.

What features does the DB12 Goldfinger Edition have?

Aston Martin’s new real-life homage to a classic movie may not have machine guns and ejector seats, but it still comes with plenty of interesting features. This unique creation was built by Aston Martin’s bespoke division, named “Q” after the fictional research-and-development “Q Branch” of the British Secret Service made famous by the Bond movie franchise.

The interior is decorated with real 18-karat gold, used as a finish on the center console, drive mode selector dial, gear selector, and several control dials including temperature, volume, and fan. A number of other aesthetic touches give the DB12 Goldfinger its unique character: the Eight of Hearts, a playing card seen in the movie’s Miami pool scene, is featured on the driver’s sun visor. The leather seats come in a subtle fluted pattern that echoes the DB5, and the perforation pattern recalls the Prince of Wales design seen on James Bond’s suit.

On the outside of the car, the iconic Aston Martin side strake which had made the DB5 instantly recognizable is replicated in a gold hue, while the addition of a Q badge sets this special-edition DB12 apart from standard ones.

Sources:
Eon Productions
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Aston Martin