Aston Martin DB10

Appears In
Spectre

On Film
Bond first sees the DB10 in Q’s lab where he’s told it has been reassigned to 009. He then “borrows” it to go on a rogue mission to Rome, leaving Q a bottle of chilled Bollinger in its place. The car is seen driving past the sights of Rome and arrives at the SPECTRE meeting. As Bond flees the meeting, he jumps into the Aston as SPECTRE agents pepper its bulletproof body armour and glass with machine gun fire. New SPECTRE agent Hinx then gives chase in a Jaguar C-X75 and they roar through the city streets. Bond tries to engage the car’s weapon systems, even though he is unfamiliar with how they work.

First he tries the ‘Backfire’ button, which reveals a twin-barrelled machine gun that extends from the rear Aston badge. He locks onto the Jaguar with a digital targeting system only to discover that the car is out of ammo. The ‘Atmosphere’ button, meanwhile, only initiates the car stereo. As they race alongside the Tiber, Bond engages the ‘Exhaust’ button, which ignites a twin flamethrower, before pressing the ‘Air’ button, allowing him to engage the sun-roof ejector seat and escape the car just before it crashes into the river. As Hinx watches the sinking Aston, 007 lands safely out of sight, unclips his parachute and walks away into the night.

The Vehicle
Aston Martin created the DB10 concept car exclusively for James Bond to drive in Spectre, marking the first time a car has been created specifically for the film series. It has a chassis that is based on a modified V8 Vantage, though with a longer wheelbase, and it boasts a 4.7-litre V8 engine. Q tells Bond that the DB10 can go from 0-60mph in 3.2 seconds, although according to Aston Martin the car has an estimated top speed of 190mph and fires from 0-60mph in 4.7 seconds. The sleek design features a shark-inspired nose where the grille sits in shadow, tucked back beneath the main feature line. This new interpretation of the classic Aston grille hints at the car’s stealthy character

All of the car’s body panels are carbon fibre, which is exposed on the sills and diffuser, and it features a full clamshell bonnet with a heat-mapped perforation pattern, ensuring that there is no need for a vent surround. In a move designed to recall the DB5, the designers worked hard to make sure that when seen in profile, the DB10 has one elegant shoulder line, running from front to back.

Only ten of these concept cars were built. Eight were employed to film key scenes in Spectre, while the other two were manufactured for promotional use. When designing the car, Aston Martin invited Skyfall and Spectre director Sam Mendes to offer his input. Mendes asked for a car that had “clean, clear lines, something classic where it is almost impossible to place its year of birth.” Mendes said he wanted a car “that felt like it was born anywhere between the early ’70s and now.” 

The Production
The main filming sequence involving the DB10 was shot in Rome over the course of three weeks in March 2015, with 350 crew, plus 250 blockers (to ensure that the roads were locked-off). The production closed off a 4km section along the River Tiber, which included five bridges. A total of 15 locations were used for the chase, including the road leading up to the Vatican, Via della Conciliazione.

The set-up for the shoot started with location hunting a year before and pre-production from October 2014. When testing the Astons, the stunt team went through a pair of tyres every 10 minutes. Gary Powell co-ordinated the stunt driving while Mark Higgins drove the DB10.

Q Branch Modifications
• Bulletproof exterior
• Ejector seat and self-locking parachute system – initiated by the Air switch
• Rear-mounted twin-barrel machine gun – operated by Backfire button
• Digital targeting system – overlayed on rear windscreen
• Twin exhaust-mounted flamethrowers – fired by the Exhaust switch