Recreating an Aston Martin DB5 fit for James Bond

Want an Aston Martin DB5 good enough for James Bond? Prepare to drain the coffers. A promotional example–not even one used in filming–for the movie “Thunderbolt” sold for $6.4 million in 2019. Official Aston Martin-produced Goldfinger DB5 continuation models sold for £2.75 million back in 2020, and they’re not even street legal.

There’s got to be a better way to relive your childhood’s most beloved car, right? And while we’re at it, how about making those gadgets functional?

That was the thinking for Joe Kaminkow, owner of this 007 DB5 recreation. Joe knows movie cars. He owns a 1960s Batmobile, the Mustang from “Bullitt”and a DeLorean time machine from “Back to the Future.”

Joe also understands the power of imagination and bringing it to life. He’s designed pinball machines, slot machines and mobile casino games. Joe’s talents were recognized with inductions into the Pinball Hall of Fame, Gaming Hall of Fame and the EKG Slot Awards Show Hall of Fame.

However, recreating James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5, unleashed during 1964’s “Goldfinger,” proved to be a bit more involved than any game of skill or chance.

Enter Walter Boehringer, general manager of Kevin Kay Restorations and the man who led the project. KKR regularly works on DB2s through DB6s, and the firm’s restorations have won best of class at Pebble Beach and best of show at the Classic Motorsports Monterey Kickoff. The project proposed by Joe was much more than a restoration, though.

“My first impression was this guy was crazy,” Walter recalls of their first phone call, noting that others have also asked the shop to recreate Bond’s iconic DB5. “Typically, it’s somebody from the Middle East who has way too much money to spend on a car. They want bulletproof glass, real guns. 

“This time around, with Joe, we spoke for about 30 minutes, and I realized he’s pretty serious about this,” Walter continues. “He knows what it’s going to take to restore the car–and he has connections to build the gadgets.”

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

Those connections started with the DB5 itself. Joe first called Doug Redenius, who owns a large collection of 007 vehicles. He had met Doug when making a James Bond pinball machine during the late 1990s. Doug introduced Joe to Aston Martin collector Don Rose. Don knew that Bruce Crocker had a right-hand-drive DB5 for sale. Joe would buy it as the foundation for recreating his James Bond car.

“The Aston Martin side of this was easy for us because that’s what we do,” says Walter of the project. The trick would be bringing the gadgets to life, something the shop hadn’t faced before. 

The project involved 50-plus people, including two industrial design firms. Those folks ranged from electrical engineers to software architects to Bond experts to even silversmiths and jewelers.

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

“A lot of these connections were through Joe and the gaming industry,” Walter says. “These people had never done anything on a car before, but they’ve done gadgets and games. That’s what made this sound like a slam dunk from the very beginning.”

Walter also connected with Stephen Archer. Not only is he an authority on DB5s, but he’s also an expert on James Bond DB5s.

 “He’s been involved with two movie cars that were sold at auction over the last 10 to 15 years,” Walter explains. “He is friends with one of the owners of those cars in Switzerland. He worked with the [Aston Martin] factory on building its series of continuation cars. He was our historian, to keep us as original as possible.”

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

With the right team assembled, the folks at KKR began to strip the DB5 to its bare metal, just like they would with any other restoration. Before they could reassemble it, however, they had to consider all the equipment they needed to incorporate. 

“We kept having to try to find a place to put things,” Walter says. “Somehow, we did.”

The team started with installing the removable roof panel plus other notable Q Branch goodies: machine guns, rotating license plates, a carbon-fiber bulletproof shield and caltrops delivery system–those are the four-pronged spikes intended to deter pursuers. 

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

Admittedly, the bullet-resistant shield and windows just appear that way. Likewise, the machine guns aren’t the real deal, but they play the part well enough to draw the attention of the organizer behind The Quail as well as the authorities present.

“There are two versions of the guns,” Walter explains. “We designed one to work off of propane and oxygen. It makes a sound and a small burst of fire–and they are loud. 

“At The Quail, when the officials came over, we asked them about the guns. They went to [show organizer] Gordon McCall and the sheriff that was in charge of safety and they immediately said, ‘No way. You’ve got these guns going off that sound like real guns. People will stampede.’ 

“We have a second option, what we call ‘kid mode,’” he continues. “So when the lights drop and the gun barrels come out, the marker lights just flash and there’s a speaker behind the grille that makes a little bit of a gun sound.”

The car can emit a smoke screen, too, and it was displayed at The Quail. The oil slick delivery system also works, although it disperses water instead.

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

Inside, there’s the ejector seat. Though it won’t send the passenger flying, it still might thrill them. “You press the button on the shift knob,” Walter explains. “There’s a countdown that comes up on the radar screen [saying,] ‘Seat ejection in five, four, three, two, one.’ Then some smoke will come out from under the seat. 

“We have seat shakers built into the seat frame,” he continues. “They’ll vibrate, kind of like what they have in some of the games at a casino. The roof ejector panel does not blast off, because if you do it once, you would be done.” That panel is removable, however, he notes. 

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

Some improvements, hidden from view, take advantage of today’s technology. Among them are power steering as well as air conditioning. 

Likewise, back in the 1960s, they didn’t have things like Bluetooth and CAN bus programming. Much of the car’s features are computer-controlled via an Apple Watch. The radar screen is a touch screen–and offers games, including Bond trivia, Magic 007 Ball, a custom slot machine and a car chase shooting game.

Unlike in the original Bond DB5s, the phone can place a call. This one, an exact replica of the movie prop, connects via Bluetooth to a cell phone.

Photography Credit: Evan Klein

All of these features make the car fun–perhaps even more so than the originals. That was the goal for Joe, Walter and the team, and they believe they have achieved that. Judging from the reaction this four-year project received at The Quail, they might just be right.

“Growing up in the ’60s and into the ’70s, James Bond movies were the ones that I waited for,” Walter reminisces. “Myself as a kid would think this has got to be the coolest thing you could ever do.”

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