EVERYTHING OLD IS NEW AGAIN

‘CONTINUATION CARS’ ARE MAKING LEGACY MANUFACTURERS SERIOUS MONEY. BUT ARE THEY THE REAL DEAL?

- ANGUS MACKENZIE

THE BIGGEST THRILL in driving the Aston Martin DB5 Goldfinger Continuation isn’t channelling your inner Sean Connery, revolving the number plates, firing the machine guns, activating the bullet-proof shield and the rest of the 007 arsenal. No, it’s the fact that you’re driving a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that’s brand new from its Avon cross-ply tyres up.

The machine guns don’t fire real bullets, it sprays water out the rear rather than oil, and you can’t get rid of a troublesome passenger with an ejector seat. But the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation is a genuine Aston Martin. It’s made by Aston Martin Works, the company’s in-house classic and restoration shop, at Newport Pagnell – where fewer than 900 DB5s were built between 1963 and 1965 – using parts and components manufactured from original drawings and digital data.

Sliding behind the wheel of the DB5 Goldfinger Continuation and firing up its 4.0-liter straight-six is like tumbling down a wormhole in the space-time continuum. You half expect to hear a Beatles tune crackling on the radio as you muscle the shifter into first gear, taking care, of course, not to lift the flap on the knob and accidentally thumb the red button hidden underneath.