James Bond’s Vanquish Available To ‘Drive Another Day’

It’s ‘double O heaven’ for Bond fans and movie buffs as an Aston Martin Vanquish used by Pierce Brosnan and EON Productions to promote ‘Die Another Day’ is up for auction with H&H Classics.

Furthermore, the car going under the hammer was the lead car in a parade to commemorate the opening of the M6 Toll road in 2003.

This significant model will be offered for sale on Wednesday 9th October at the Imperial War Museum, Duxford.

Estimated to fetch between £50,000 to £70,000, the V12-powered, near 200mph GT began life as one of seven Vanquish cars retained by Aston Martin for press duties which were sequentially road registered from ‘Y829 MWL’ through to ‘Y836 MWL’ (with the exception of ‘Y830 MWL’). Thus, the sale car – ‘Y834 MWL’ had already graced the pages of various publications by the time it was delivered to Pinewood Studios for a photoshoot alongside the fifth James Bond, Pierce Brosnan.

The resultant images were used to promote the 2002 007-outing, ‘Die Another Day’ worldwide with ‘Y834 MWL’ being specifically chosen because it was finished in the same Tungsten Silver paint with Charcoal leather and an aluminium centre console, as the hero cars used on the silver screen.

‘Die Another Day’ starred Halle Berry too while the film’s title song was performed by Madonna, who also made a cameo appearance.

The model for sale, which has also sported the appropriate the number plate ‘M16 SPY’ for a brief while and also been registered as ‘A12 AML’, has just 37,800 miles from new and been in the hands of its current owner for more than 20 years as part of a prominent collection.

The interior of the Vanquish is equally appealing and blends technology and traditional materials that were considered state-of-the-art at the time.

Meanwhile, images from the iconic collaboration between James Bond and ‘Y834 MWL’ are still being used by numerous newspapers, magazines and websites today.

James McWilliam, sales manager at H&H Classics, said: “Our October auction offers a fantastic opportunity to own a slice of movie and motoring history with this stunning Aston Martin Vanquish.

“Not only was it used at Pinewood Studios for photoshoots with Pierce Brosnan for ‘Die Another Day’ but it was also the first car to drive down the M6 Toll road to commemorate its opening.

“Additionally, as well as the close connection to James Bond and Pierce Brosnan, who himself owned a 2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, the car is also a superb example of the marque’s last hand-built grand tourer.”

‘Die Another Day’ also has an important role in the James Bond franchise as it re-forged the links between EON Productions and Aston Martin such that the British manufacturer has supplied all the world’s most famous spy’s hero cars since 2002.

For more information about the James Bond Vanquish up for auction with H&H Classics, visit 2001 Aston Martin Vanquish, while for more details about H&H Classics sale on 9th October, visit www.handh.co.uk.