Aston Martin is developing a limited-edition car for the 2015 James Bond movie Spectre, continuing a 50-year relationship between the luxury-auto manufacturer and the spy-film franchise.
The vehicle, dubbed the DB10, will offer a “glimpse” of the future design for Aston Martin’s next line of cars, the Gaydon, England-based company said in a statement. The carmaker will build just 10 of the model.
The tie-in with the new movie will offer a global audience to Aston Martin, one of the few independent luxury-car brands, as the company invests 500 million pounds (US$783-million) on an expansion through 2017. The manufacturer teamed up with Mercedes AMG performance unit a year ago to gain technology to compete with Bentley, Porsche and Maserati.
AMG will provide modified V8 engines for the next generation of Aston Martin cars. Stuttgart, Germany-based Daimler is also in talks on developing a sport-utility vehicle for the U.K. company, according to people familiar with the matter.
Aston Martin, which sold 4,200 vehicles last year, is in the midst of the biggest expansion in its 101-year history after London-based investment firm Investindustrial bought a 37.5 percent stake in December 2012. Daimler will acquire a holding of as much as 5 percent as cooperation develops, according to the agreement reached last year.
Spectre will feature actor Daniel Craig in the role of James Bond for the fourth time and is scheduled for release in November 2015. The DB10 was developed in close co-operation of Marek Reichman, Aston Martin’s head of design, and Sam Mendes, the film’s director, the U.K. carmaker said.
