No time to die

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Aston Martin DB5 Junior No Time To Die Edition

The latest James Bond movie is about to be released at the time of writing, and while Aston Martin themselves have already started their No Time To Die campaign by putting a 1:1 scale replica of the famous Bond DB5 inside a giant Corgi Toys box, there are others that plan to ride the James Bond wave this new movie will cause, just check out this amazing silver metallic DB5 Convertible ‘No Time To Die Edition’ … but it might not be what you would expect …

What you are looking at here is actually a two-thirds scale replica of the iconic Aston Martin DB5, all-electric by the way, created by ‘The Little Car Company’ together with Aston Martin and EON Production … only 125 units of this very special Aston Martin DB5 Junior No Time To Die Edition will be made worldwide, and it does include some of those famous Bond gadgets.

© 2021. All rights reserved. The Little Car Company. The Ferrari Testa Rossa J is hand-built in the UK under license by The Little Car Company. Use of the Ferarri brand is with permission of Ferrari s.p.a

The Little Car Company has a very interesting catalog of amazing classic cars, downscaled to be enjoyed by not only children but their parents too. How about a 75% reproduction of the legendary Ferrari 250 Testa Rossa, called the Testa Rossa J, and limited to 299 units, they even have a complete configurator online to create your bespoke Testa Rossa J in just about any color you like.

But it gets even better, with the Bugatti Baby II, another 75% scale model, but this time of the 1920’s Bugatti Type 35, probably the most successful race car of all time with about 2,000 wins under her belt, but the story gets more interesting when Ettore Bugatti built a half-scale replica for his son Jean’s fourth birthday. Intended as a one-off, customers convinced Ettore to start building this smaller-scale version too, and in the end about 500 units were made almost a century ago.

© 2021. All rights reserved. The Little Car Company. The Bugatti Baby II is hand-built in the UK under license by The Little Car Company. Use of the Bugatti brand is with permission of Bugatti Automobiles S.A.S.

Today you can get a more modern version, which happens to be a little larger too, as a three-quarter Bugatti Baby II model from The Little Car Company, again limited to only 500 units, available in many different colors, this new Bugatti Baby II is a rear-wheel drive, battery-powered car that can reach a top speed of about 20 km/h in ‘novice mode’ but this can be raised to 45 km/h in export mode … the Baby II even comes with a ‘Speed Key’ like the Chiron, which releases 10kW and no speed limiter.

But back to the Aston Martin DB5 Junior now, and while we will discuss this new limited edition ‘No Time To Die’ version next, first let’s take a look at what The Little Car Company offers in their DB5 Junior range too, at a more democratic price. With a battery-powered engine delivering 5kW or 6.7hp from a 1.8kWh battery the base model DB5 Junior is listed at £35,000 (US$ 50,000) before options, but just like the big brothers from Aston Martin, you can opt for a DB5 Vantage Junior which comes with two batteries and doubles the power output to 10kW (13.4 bhp) and even comes with a limited-slip differential … at £45,000 ($62,000).

But we are here for the piece de résistance, the DB5 JUNIOR No Time To Die Edition that starts at £90,000, so about $125,000 … for a toy car … or is it. No, this 2/3rd scale replica is much more than a toy, this very special model is limited to just 112 units and comes with a massive power upgrade compared to the Vantage edition. Now 4 1.8 kWh batteries get installed delivering 16kW of power or 21.5 bhp that pushes this electric car up to 45 mph … this isn’t a toy anymore.

But wait, there is more, we are talking about a James Bond special edition, so that comes with Gatling guns behind the headlights, digital revolving license plates, a smokescreen generator, a hidden switch panel for the gadgets, and even a Skid mode, and while the real Aston Martin DB5 driven in the movie is a coupe, this one comes as a convertible, as this allows the child to be accompanied by an adult sitting side by side.

The paint on this Aston Martin DB5 Junior No Time To Die Edition is the period-correct Silver Birch while for the dashboard the correct Smiths instruments are fitted, being a limited edition, there are individually numbered chassis plates and genuine Aston Martin badges on this two-thirds replica.

Further testament we aren’t talking about an expensive toy here is the fact they did a 3D scan of a real Aston Martin DB5 to create this smaller-scale version, and while it’s electric, the fuel gauge has been replaced by a battery meter, but in their effort to create a safe car for a child to drive, they also fitted Brembo disc brakes, which regenerate when braking while Bilstein dampers and coil-over springs can keep up with the performance.

Ben Hedley, CEO of The Little Car Company, said: “Regarded as the most famous car in cinematic history, the gadget-laden Aston Martin DB5 awed audiences around the world over fifty years ago. Now, that story continues. As part of an exclusive partnership with EON Productions and Aston Martin, we have had the opportunity to create something truly unique for James Bond fans and collectors. We can’t wait to see the adventures these cars take with their owners.”

September 21, 2021 / Comments Off

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No Time To Die campaign by Aston Martin

If you ask people what car James Bond drives, chances are you’ll get Aston Martin as an answer, sure Pierce Brosnan drove a few BMWs in his movies, but Sean Connery, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, now also Daniel Craig, were all driving Aston Martin, with the classic DB5 probably being the most famous one, complete with passenger ejection seat and machine guns behind the lights.

I’m sure many, just like me, once owned the Corgi made toy version of this 1965 Aston Martin DB5, with the small figurine to put on the passenger seats, only to press a lever underneath the model that opens the roof and shoots the guy into the air, mine even came with the bulletproof panel to rise behind the rear window and the retractable machine guns at the front, even the risers on the front bumper came out … I had so much fun with this model, and it all kept working even after I lost the little guy to shoot out the roof.

That specific car has become so important in both Aston Martin history and in movie history, that they decided to create the Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation car, complete with a large array of working gadgets that fans will recognize from the classic James Bond film: rotating number plates, a retractable bulletproof rear shield, extending front over-riders and of course pop-out machine guns.

After the original DB5 has been out of production for 55 years, this very special Continuation model will be built only 25 times, all as an authentic reproduction of the classic DB5 used in the Bond movie, and you can only get it in one specific color called Silver Birch, just like the 1965 car, but this modern recreation does come with some mild modifications and enhancements to ensure the highest levels of quality and reliability expected in today’s world.

The original 1965 Corgi Toys are highly sought-after, and very expensive these days, as with all scale models, it is important the car itself is in perfect condition, but also that it comes with the original accessories and it’s still inside the original box, where the plastic window hasn’t turned yellow, back in 1965 the Corgi James Bond Aston Martin DB5 from the movie Goldfinger earned the UK ‘Toy of the Year’ and ‘Best Boys Toy’ titles at the National Association of Toy Retailers Awards … but Corgi is still making this model today, after numerous retooling, but you can still buy one.

Obtaining an original 1965 version of the Corgi toy might be expensive, but one of the 25 Continuation cars will most likely be even more expensive, just as a celebration of the return of 007’s iconic Aston Martin DB5 to the big screen, Aston Martin, and Corgi unveiled a full-size replica of the original 1965 Corgi DB5 model. Shown at The Coaling Jetty, outside Battersea Power Station, this 1:1 model measures 5.66 meters long, 2.7 meters tall, and 2.7 meters deep, and it’s shown inside an original Corgi Toys box … only massively larger.

In about a month the 25th James Bond movie will be released, so it was the perfect timing for Aston Martin to launch their own No Time To Die campaign, complete with a bespoke TV spot, in the movie itself we’ll be recognizing a total of four different Aston Martin models, naturally the famous DB5 will be seen again, but this time the classic Aston Martin V8 will make a return too, while the DBS super GT comes with skis mounted on the rear window … and as a piece de resistance the impressive Valhalla mid-engined hypercar makes an appearance too.

Marek Reichman said “We are really honored to be marking the start of the No Time To Die campaign today with this exciting unveil. Aston Martin’s relationship with James Bond spans decades and the DB5 is, without question, the most famous car in the world by virtue of its 50-plus year association. Working with EON Productions and Chris Corbould to build 25 of the DB5 Goldfinger Continuations was a truly unique project for everyone involved at Aston Martin. Now, to work with Corgi – another quintessentially British brand – and to see James Bond’s most cherished car sitting inside a to-scale toy box in central London is quite outstanding”.

The full-size replica Corgi DB5 box will remain on display at Battersea Power Station in the UK for the general public to admire until 1 October 2021, check out the TV spot below:

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September 3, 2021 / Comments Off

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