Aston Martin

DB10

Aston Martin DB10: Built for Bond

In the long and glamorous history of automotive product placement, there is no relationship more iconic than that of James Bond and Aston Martin. The association, forged in 1964 with the DB5 in Goldfinger, has shaped the public perception of the British marque for over half a century.

Historically, the producers of the Bond films simply used the latest production car available from Aston Martin (such as the DBS in Casino Royale or the Vanquish in Die Another Day). However, for the 24th James Bond film, Spectre (released in 2015), the film’s director, Sam Mendes, wanted something entirely unique. He didn’t want a car that the public could simply walk into a dealership and buy.

In a remarkable collaboration, Aston Martin agreed to design and build a completely bespoke, fully functioning car exclusively for the film. The result was the Aston Martin DB10. It was the first time in history that Aston Martin created a dedicated model specifically for a James Bond movie.

The Design: A Glimpse into the Future

When the project began in 2014, Aston Martin was in a transitional phase. They were preparing to phase out the VH architecture (which underpinned the DB9 and Vantage) and introduce a completely new design language that would eventually become the DB11 and the modern Vantage.

The design of the DB10, led by Aston Martin Chief Creative Officer Marek Reichman, served as a highly publicized concept car, teasing the future styling direction of the brand to a global audience of millions.

The DB10 is characterized by extreme minimalism and predatory proportions.

  • The Shark Nose: The iconic Aston Martin grille was lowered and widened, pushed deep into the front fascia, creating a “shark-like” aggressive overbite.
  • Seamless Bodywork: To achieve an incredibly clean look, the body panels (crafted entirely from carbon fiber) were designed with minimal shut lines. The traditional side strakes were removed, replaced by deep, sculptural channels running down the flanks.
  • The Stance: The car features an exceptionally wide track and a very short wheelbase, giving it a much more muscular, coiled appearance than the elegant DB9.

Many of these design elements, particularly the lowered grille and the aggressive rear lighting signature, directly influenced the production 2018 Aston Martin Vantage.

The Hardware: V8 Vantage Underpinnings

Because the DB10 had to be developed and built in just six months to meet the filming schedule, Aston Martin could not build a completely new chassis from scratch.

Underneath the bespoke carbon-fiber bodywork, the DB10 is essentially an Aston Martin V8 Vantage S. It utilizes the proven VH (Vertical/Horizontal) extruded aluminum chassis, though modified with a slightly longer wheelbase and a significantly wider track to achieve the desired cinematic proportions.

Powering the DB10 is the familiar 4.7-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine. It produces roughly 430 horsepower and 361 lb-ft of torque.

Crucially for the driving dynamics of the film, the DB10 was fitted with a traditional 6-speed manual transmission. This allowed the stunt drivers to easily perform burnouts, drifts, and perfectly timed J-turns through the narrow streets of Rome without electronic interference from an automatic gearbox.

While official performance figures were never formally verified (as it was not a homologated production car), Aston Martin estimated a 0-60 mph time of around 4.7 seconds and a top speed of 190 mph (305 km/h).

The Production: Ten Cars for One Movie

Aston Martin built exactly ten examples of the DB10 at their headquarters in Gaydon.

The allocation of these ten cars highlights the brutal reality of filming a major action movie:

  • Hero Cars: Two cars were built as “hero” cars, featuring fully finished, luxurious interiors for close-up shots involving Daniel Craig.
  • Stunt Cars: Several cars were reinforced with roll cages, heavier suspension, and stripped interiors to handle the massive jumps and high-speed chases.
  • Pod Cars: At least two cars were built as “pod” cars. These vehicles had a complete driving rig (steering wheel, pedals, racing seat) bolted to the roof. This allowed a professional stunt driver (sitting on the roof) to pilot the car at high speeds while Daniel Craig sat in the actual driver’s seat, acting for the cameras.
  • Destruction: Several of the ten cars were completely destroyed during the filming of the climactic chase sequence in Rome, ultimately ending up at the bottom of the Tiber River.

The Surviving Legacy

Because the DB10 was never put through global homologation testing for crash safety or emissions, it cannot be legally registered or driven on public roads anywhere in the world. It is purely a cinematic prop.

Of the ten cars built, Aston Martin retained the surviving examples for promotional use. In 2016, Aston Martin auctioned off one of the pristine “hero” cars (Chassis No. 10) for charity. Despite not being road-legal, it sold for a staggering £2.4 million ($3.5 million).

The Aston Martin DB10 remains a fascinating automotive anomaly. It is one of the rarest cars to ever bear the Aston Martin wings—a functioning concept car that exists solely because of the enduring cultural power of the world’s most famous secret agent.