bond

James Bond's New Bentley

It may be a while before everyone's favorite spy is back on the silver screen, but fortunately for Bond fans, there's a new series of books to keep our interests piqued. But while 007 drives an Aston Martin in the latest movies, in the books (old and new) Bentley is his ride of choice.

The latest book Carte Blanche is set to launch in the UK on May 26, but its author Jeffery Deaver recently stopped by its setting in Dubai to check out the new Bentley Continental GT in white over red which Bond drives in the book. Not a subtle choice, to be sure, but neither is Dubai. See for yourself in the image gallery below.

Gallery: Jeffrery Deaver & the Bentley Continental GT

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Tags: 007, bentley, bentley continental gt, bond, carte blanche, dubai, emirates, james bond, jeffery deaver, uae

James Bond's 1964 Aston Martin DB5 Fetches $4.6 Million at Auction

by Noah Joseph (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

It's been months since RM Auctions announced it had received this very special historic automobile on consignment. The 1964 Aston Martin DB5 was used in not one, but two James Bond movies: Goldfinger and Thunderball. Packing all the special features installed for 007's covert operations, the Aston has been dubbed the most famous car in the world. And now it's finally crossed the auction block for the first time ever.

At yesterday's Automobiles of London auction, the one-of-a-kind DB5 – fully street-legal in the UK despite the spikes and machine guns – sold for a massing 2.9 million pounds sterling (approximately $4.6 million). A little shy of the $5 million it was expected to fetch, but not by much. The winning bidder was one Harry Yeaggy, and the price included RM's twelve percent commission, the rest of the proceeds going towards (now former) owner Jerry Lee's namesake charitable foundation.

Gallery: 1964 Aston Martin DB5 James Bond

Tags: 007, 1964 aston martin db5, aston martin, aston martin db5, bond, goldfiner, james bond, rm, rm auctions, thunderball

Chanel Agrees To Record Amount For Retail Space On Bond Street

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Apparel, Jewelry, Timepieces / Watches

The Financial Times recently reported that Chanel broke records in securing a 25 year lease for retail space and a building on London's famous Bond Street. A popular location for luxury retail, the record price seems to defy angst that the luxury industry is quite painfully hurting. While that is true, the negative effect hasn't been the same for all brands. Chanel's popularity has been high, as well as the sales of its signature J12 watches, and other luxury goods.

Located in London's West End, the new retail space is due to be a flagship store for the luxury brand. While I am not clear on all the facts, it appears as though Chanel paid 4 million British Pounds in cast to rent the store, along with possible other costs as well. Not only is the amount incredible, but the price given the size of the property is also outstanding. The space was previously occupied by Nicole Fahri - which was apparently paid millions by the landlord to surrender their lease so that Chanel could take over.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch reviews site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: bond, bond street, chanel, london, store, street

The Ian Fleming Foundation: Bond For Good Causes

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Charity

Another James Bond movie is headed to the theaters and James Bond fans all around the world are lining up to see Daniel Craig in action as 007. Part of the lure is the long history of the movies and the books written by Ian Fleming which create a whole world of superspy adventures with beautiful women, fast cars, yachts and gadgets. I've seen Bond-related vehicles come up for auction before but I didn't know, until I saw a recent article in the Chicago Tribune, that there is actually an Ian Fleming Foundation, a group of owners of some of these vehicles. The foundation is a charity of seven board members who use their Bond vehicles to help non-profits raise money. The charity will loan out vehicles for a fee or a percentage of the money brought in and that money goes toward the foundation's operating budget. Their end goal is to have a museum of Bond vehicles that raises money that can be donated to a scholarship for a writer or filmmaker.

Some of the vehicles including the Lotus submarine car used in the 1977 film 'The Spy Who Loved Me,' the Aston Martin Volante used in the 1987 James Bond film 'The Living Daylights,' and the Ford Mondeo used in the 2006 film 'Casino Royale' are on display at the Beaulieu National Motor Museum in New Forest between Bournemouth and Southampton in England. The James Bond Experience also includes props and apparel from the movies. The exhibition was created with the Ian Fleming Foundation.

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Tags: 007, bond, ian fleming, IanFleming, james bond, JamesBond

Bond-Worthy Watch for a Bond-Worthy Car

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches, Luxury Cars & Autos, Celebrity Shopping

Why fantasize about being James Bond when you can get a few steps closer to being 007? Aston Martin is offering a limited-edition Jaeger LeCoultre with the purchase of Bond's newest ride, the Aston Martin DBS.

At $332,000, one would think they would throw in the watch for free, but not so much. The watch is available only to purchasers of the DBS for a pretty $35,000, and is truly Bond-worthy at that -- not only does the watch look good, it also unlocks and starts the car. That will at least get you a second date, eh?

At the moment, buyers can choose between grade 5 titanium and rose-gold, but Jaeger's Jerome Lambert hints that a higher-end watch may be on its way.

[Source: Cleveland Leader]

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Tags: 007, aston martin, AstonMartin, bond, dbs, watch

Classic Aston Martins Fetching Ferrari-Like Bids on the Auction Block

by Erin Mays (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

Classic Aston Martin vehicles and various finds in the parts bin went for astronomical amounts of money last Saturday at Bonhams' eighth annual Aston Martin sale in Buckinghamshire. Held at the Works Service facility in Newport Pagnell, the event brought in £2.3 million.

The top-grossing car on the block was a 1970 Aston Martin DB6 Mk2 Volante Convertible, which brought in £430,500, but one major point of interest was the shift knob fitted with an eject button for the James Bond movies 'Goldfinger' and 'Thunderball.' The piece went for over £40,000 -- quite a bit ahead of its estimated worth of £1,500 - £1,800.

Other impressive figures surrounded vehicles like the 2000 Aston Martin SWB Vantage Volante Special Edition, which went for £238,000 and was delivered to its new owner with less than 13,000 miles on it, as well as a 1965 Aston Martin DB5 Convertible, sold for £221,500.

[Source: CommanderBond.net]

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Tags: 007, aston martin, AstonMartin, bond, db5, db7, db9, james bond, JamesBond, volante

Jaguar XF: The Next BondMobile?

by Anton Friant (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos

Behold the supercar that very well may grace the silver screen in the 22nd installment in the Bond series: the Jaguar XF. Although a lot of this intelligence is speculation, it is relatively well educated speculation. Given the fact that Ford still has exclusive product placement rights for this next Bond film, one might presuppose that Aston Martin may want to continue their reign after the beautiful DBS aired in Casino Royale...However! It turns out Ford has placed the Aston Martin badge on the auction block, and it isn't expected to stay there long. So unless Ford wants to give up a 500GT (and really, I don't see Bond behind the wheel of a muscle car), I think we can assume Bond will be riding the cat in the next one. And what great timing too, as they've just recently released a ton of beautiful photographs, CG and sketches of the XF over at AutoBlog. I, for one, am rooting for her; and come on, who doesn't love to hear those crazy Brits say "Jag-u-ar"?

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Tags: bond, car, jaguar, supercar, vehicles, wheels

Vacation Like James Bond

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Travel & Hotels

The next best thing to being James Bond is living like him. No, we're not talking about facing off with bad guys and thwarting the plans of those bent on world domination (unless you really want to). We're talking about taking vacations in some of the spots around the world that were, in some way, touched by Bond. Forbes Traveler has picked out their top Bond vacation destinations and, as big James Bond fans, we're ready to pack our bags. The list includes:

The Fleming House in Jamaica, where Ian Fleming wrote 17 Bond novels.
James Bond Island in Thailand was made famous by The Man With The Golden Gun, but is just a hop, skip and a jump from where The Beach was filmed, too.
The Stoke Park Club in the UK was the location for many Bond scenes, both when Sean Connery and Pierce Brosnan played Bond.
GoldenEye fans might jump at the chance to recreate the opening scene of the Bond film by taking a Bungee Jump from the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland -- the highest commercial bungee jump in the world,

*Note: Martinis and Bond girls not included.

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Tags: action, bond, bungee jump, fleming, hero, james bond, stope park, travel, traveler, vacation, vacations

Aston Martin Wheel Spinner

by Nicole Weston (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Did you know that Sony is considering having Pierce Brosnan back in the role of James Bond in a remake of the movie Thunderball? Actually, this is a completely unsubstantiated rumor that is floating around, so don't take my word for it. All things considered, though, there are a lot of Bond fans who would rather see Brosnan back than wait to see Daniel Craig in the forthcoming Casino Royale. They'll have to be contented with something like the excellent - if impractical - Aston Martin Wheel Spinner chrome paperweight. It manages to evoke the glory days of Bond as only everything Aston Martin can and might make a slick consolation gift to a disappointed fan. Price: £102.13.

[via Sybarites]

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Tags: aston martin, AstonMartin, bond, paperweight, wheel spinner, wheelspinner

James Bond DB5 Sells for $1.9 Million

by Trey Evans (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Luxury Cars & Autos, Auctions

We told you back in November that the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 used in Goldfinger was coming up for auction. Well, today it went to an anonymous Swiss buyer for a reported $1,900,000. Will the buyer be trying to acquire the new Bond car when it is available? The car is to be shipped back to Switzerland to join its new family of other Astons and Porsches. Also sold in the Arizona auction were Capone's 1928 Caddy and Hank Williams Jr's Bonneville cabrio. The DB5 really is a beautiful machine, but for a movie car, I'd rather have Arthur's 1956 Rolls Royce Silver Wraith.

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Tags: 007, aston martin, AstonMartin, bond, db5, james bond, JamesBond