Aston Martin DBS - There Is More To The Series Than Just Being James Bond's Preferred Ride

Driving the Aston Martin DBS Superleggera high up in the German Alps, Andre Lam discovers that there is far more to the series than just being James Bond’s preferred ride

- Andre Lam

In the movie world, there is almost no doubt that the James Bond franchise is one of the most watched. And it is by no accident that Aston Martin is closely associated with it. Ian Fleming, who wrote the famous spy novel, decided to feature the Aston Martin DB3 in his book Goldfinger, after a fan wrote to him suggesting the British marque. And when the book was made into a film, the producers chose to go with the DB5, which matched Agent 007’s character—suave but deadly. Another model in close association with Bond is the DBS, first seen in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969) before it was resurrected in a refreshed prototype form in Casino Royale (2006).

The company that was originally commissioned to make the very first DBS was an Italian coachbuilder called Touring, using its patented lightweight technology Superleggera (super lightweight in Italian). Alas, Touring folded before the car could be finished and Aston Martin brought it back to the UK for completion. In 2018, Aston Martin paid tribute to the iconic partnership by christening its new DBS with the Superleggera name, which also denotes the super grand tourer’s lightweight construction.