„Goldfinger“ – imagine the first brass tunes as an entry fanfare to this 60^th Anniversary Edition of James Bond´s Aston Martin DB 5, the definitive Bond car, brought up from AUTOoart´s golden-era-vault, of course no longer re-issued in precious metal, but today´s composite. For comparison, I cannot offer AUTOart´s original issue of Sean Connery´s ride, but only the civilian, non-gadgeted diecast version in silver. Has AUTOart struck gold with it?

First ignoring Q´s modifications for a comparison of the DB5 renditions, the most obvious difference of the new DB 5 (or DB 5 Continuation, as Aston Martin, who offers modern replicas too) is of course weight. The tone of silver on the new car seems warmer, a more gilded hue of silver than the old diecast´s. The body is more sharply sculpted, particularly notable at the C-pillar, where the raised shoulder line dops a little inward, creating a “ditch” unlike on the old model. A welcome addition is the two wing mirrors, an antenna stub and two chrome knobs in the rear windows rear corners, indicating the original´s opening function.

The winged Aston badges rear and front were flat photoetched pieces, whereas the new car has 1mm-thick plastic badges. The nose and radiator grille are more curved than the new one, and the bonnet´s air scoop opening is now thinner. Headlights behind their glass covers stick out a little further and are more detailed than on AA´s previous model and the indicators´ clear lenses have become smaller although they hide Q´s deadliest addition. Bond´s new Aston has a curvier front bumper than the vintage AUTOart, while that has the rear bumper´s corners sticking out further, seeming more massive on the rear corners. The new taillights are far superior to the old ones, offering the layered structure of the lenses and duly deleting the visible mounting pins. Sadly, but correctly the new movie car has no DB5 logos on the boot lid or the fenders, but an added “GB” nationality sticker for its continental journey.

More differences can be seen on the wheels. While both have wire spokes, the new one´s wires retract inwards from the outside of the rims, protruding from there much further outward to culminate in a three-winged spinner, whereas the old DB5 ´s spokes emerge towards a two-wings-spinner much less dramatically. The addition of branding the tires as “Avon Turbospeed” lay due testament to what has become state of the art since. If, however, we look at shut-lines on doors, bonnet and trunk, the original promise of composite´s superiority AUTOart justified its departure from diecast metal with does not exactly prove a game changer. In this respect, the old model holds up extremely well.

“A spider´s touch” that Shirley Bassey attributes to Goldfinger in her famous Bond title song is recommended when operating the delicate parts of any composite AUTOart, but even more so on this model. There are reports on bonnets and doors not fitting too well or mounting screws loose and falling out, luckily not on mine. Opening both “Superleggera”-scripted bonnets on their forward hinges, both models offer two metal prop rods to keep it open. Comparing the engines to pictures of the 1:1, the new model again proves more accurate. Just mind the more correct air filter in the front right corner, the red radiator fan, added wiring and generally increased depth.

The cabin has also become more refined, even without considering Q´s added gadgets. The seats are deeper, more sculpted, and the steering wheel´s wood is more credible. This finally brings us to Q´s little party tricks without which the cabin seems rather empty by modern standards. Some secret extras aren´t concealed, like the open tracking radar screen. Others cannot really be operated, like the famous ejection seat: Yes, you can add and remove both the roof panel and the seat, which are held in place magnetically, but you cannot flip up the top of the delicate gear lever to reveal the red button or send the seat flying (a fun offered on the rather good Playmobil Bond-Aston). The “spider´s touch” comes into play again for all the other gadgets, with meticulous instructions on how to operate them, like accessing the telephone receiver in the door card or flipping the armrest open for the switch buttons that operate the exterior stealth, weapons and defence systems.

Most of those are hidden away extremely well by the model, with the bullet-proof shield that can really come up from the trunk lid being an inevitable exception. Inside the trunk, AUTOart has replicated all the switchboards, wiring and tanks that fictionally drive the gadgets. The overriders on the bumpers and tire-slashing spinners on the wheels readily slide out, without that option being obvious when retracted. You wouldn´t assume that the number plates actually rotate (although the GB sticker somewhat blows the conspirative cover of the Aston being registered in France or Switzerland) The last thing you´d expect, though, when looking at the model is that the indicator lenses will flip open to reveal extendable machinegun barrels in the front and (fictitiously) squirt slippery oil in the rear.

“Golden words he will pour in your ear. But his lies can’t disguise what you fear.” Well, I hope that doesn´t apply to my review and pictures will lay sufficient testament to this being absolute gold, even though admittedly fears that re-releases are not always better are usually not unjustified. This, however, can be deemed superior to its predecessor, especially earlier Bond-versions and worth adding to any Aston Martin, movie car or James Bond collection, having the license to thrill. Not only, but particularly in this 60th-Anniversary-007-Goldfinger version, AUTOart has added a “Midas touch” that surely earns it a nomination for our 2024 Model-of-the-Year-Awards.