Drive like James Bond with the Aston Martin DBS 2008

Ah, the sweet life of James Bond. Those custom made Brioni suits, the finest of hotels, Omega wristwatches, vintage champagne and caviar, a license to kill and oh, those amazing cars, especially the new 2008 Aston Martin DBS - reports Yahoo.

Throughout the film series, from the classic Aston Martin DB5 in "Goldfinger" to the car-turned-submarine Lotus Esprit S1 in "The Spy Who Loved Me", James Bond has had his share of vehicles to die for. And those that kill.

But the one constant about the Bond vehicles is the cutting-edge gadgetry designed and installed by Q. Take the bulletproof DB5 from "Goldfinger", conceived more than 40 years ago. Equipped with evasive gadgets like a smoke screen and oil slick, dual machine guns, tire spikes and, the most Bond of all features, an ejecting passenger seat, the silver Aston Martin helped to create the Bond persona for the entire series.

"These cars act like characters in the Bond films," says Michael Isabell of EyeSpyfilms.com, who is working on a documentary about James Bond fan culture, "Besides the fact that the cars have a lot of technology, they always seem to get him out trouble as well. Also, there is something sexy about a beautiful girl in a beautiful car too."

So it comes as no surprise to see the same 1965 Aston Martin DB5 appears in the latest Bond film, "Casino Royale" too. But the car that garners the viewer's attention is the awesomely cool 2008 Aston Martin DBS.

The vehicle says something about of the exclusive nature of Bond's status. The fact that he drives a vehicle of such élan, taste and exclusivity – the DBS doesn't come on the market until October of 2007 – says something about Her Majesty's Secret Service clout at the Aston dealership. A team of Aston Martin engineers worked closely with the film production company to provide both technical support and quite a few DBS models during the production. The DBS in the film features a hidden weapon compartment, life-saving high-tech equipment and, if you've seen the movie, more accident safety features than a soccer mom's Volvo wagon. None of these features will be available to the average consumer, of course.

While Aston Martin is somewhat tight-lipped on the DBS's specs, look for the model to build upon the heritage of classic production models and their recent racecars, the DBR9 specifically. Basically, the DBS is a racecar in street clothing and is what you expect of a car befitting Bond. Providing more power – a rumored 500-horsepower V-12 is under the hood – and luxury than the already luxurious Aston DB9, it is said that Aston Martin will build only 300 examples of the DBS for budding Bonds the world over.

"The Aston Martin and James Bond relationship is one of cinema's longest and most durable product placements. There is something that is indeterminable about the Bond character that is so well reflected in an Aston Martin," says Tim Watson, VP Communications & Public Affairs, Aston Martin, "In everybody that buys an Aston Martin, there is an element of Bond in them."

When asked to elaborate on this, Watson grins, "People don't really get to be Bond. I always say to them, 'Bond, he's not real."

They don’t call it movie magic for nothing.

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