The 50-Year Mission: James Bond and Aston Martin from 1964 to 2015

On the occasion of the DB10 being cast in ‘Spectre,’ we look back on the ultimate British marriage.

For decades, the James Bond franchise was an over-the-top showcase for gadgets, cars, women, and cultural stereotypes. Rising above the fray of laser-watches, pools of sharks, cold-eyed Russians and Ursula Andress was one car: an Aston Martin, in silver birch. In 1964, Desmond Llewelyn introduced the “1964 Aston Martin DB5, with some modifications” and ever since, no marque has been more closely associated with Bond. The car and the character even attract the same modifiers: elegant, brawny, British.

Earlier this week, director Sam Mendes announced that a brand new Aston Martin DB10 would play the lead automotive role in “Spectre,” the 24th film in the Bond series. This will be the eleventh time the films have featured an Aston and those appearances still say as much about the franchise as the man in the perfectly tailored suit. Here’s a history of Britain’s most enduring couple.

Photos by Everett Collection