Aston Martin to auction its ‘Spectre’-starring DB10 sports car for charity

By Miles Branman January 21, 2016

Aston Martin has announced it will auction its DB10 sports car — the first Aston to be built exclusively for a James Bond film — for Médecins Sans Frontières charity. Scheduled to hit London’s auction house of Christie’s on February 18, the DB10 should fetch more than £1 million.

One of the stars of Spectre, (the other being Jaguar’s C-X75 Concept), Aston Martin’s DB10 is a hint at what’s to come with Aston Martin’s DB9-replacing DB11 sports car. It’s sharp creases will blend into the designs of the UK automaker’s next generation of models. Only 10 examples were produced at Aston’s Gaydon headquarters for filming of the latest Bond film. The DB10 is powered by a 4.7-liter V8 engine and six-speed manual gearbox.

Most of the DB10’s were modified for the movie, but the car being auctioned was one of two “show” cars that toured the world for auto shows and film promotions. In other words, this one hasn’t been tainted by aggressive driving. Daniel Craig — 007 himself — has also signed this particular example.

One important disclaimer for the uber-wealthy who might be interested in purchasing such a car: It isn’t road-legal. Since it’s design purpose was for either filming or promotion, Aston Martin didn’t homologate or put the DB10 through safety regulation screenings. That said, with a spare bit of cash, a buyer could presumably retrofit the model to comply with regional laws. If I was spending over a million bucks on a car, I might want to drive it on occasion.

As for the upcoming DB11, Aston Martin recently teased a twin-turbocharged V12 which will serve up about 550 horsepower, but there may also be a lesser twin-turbocharged V8 available, courtesy of Mercedes-AMG. Entry-level power should hover around the 475-horsepower mark.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Miles Branman doesn't need sustenance; he needs cars. While the gearhead gene wasn't strong in his own family, Miles…

Cars

Don’t let the gimmicks fool you. The Ioniq 5 N is a serious track car

2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N drifting.

We’re finally getting to the fun part of automakers’ methodical quest to replicate their lineups with electric cars.

Performance versions of ordinary cars have been a staple of the auto industry for decades. But while we’ve already seen some variants of EVs boasting more power and more impressive stats — think Tesla Model S Plaid or Lucid Air Sapphire — the 2025 Hyundai Ioniq 5 N is the first to truly apply that format to an EV.

Cars

The Maserati GranCabrio Folgore is one of the best-looking EVs yet

Front of the Maserati GranCabrio Folgore

Maserati is adopting electrified vehicles with open arms, and while that could potentially signal an identity crisis for the luxury Italian brand, that’s probably a good thing in the long run.

The company recently took the wraps off of the new Maserati GranCabrio Folgore, which is essentially a convertible version of its already released GranTurismo Folgore electric car. The new EV is its third go at electrified vehicles so far, and it flew us out to Rimini, Italy, to witness the big reveal in person.

Cars

EV warranties aren’t like those for non-electric cars. Here’s what you should know

Close up of the Hybrid car electric charger station with power supply plugged into an electric car being charged.

EVs are on the rise. With awesome new models finally rolling out and charging networks rapidly expanding, it feels like we're at the tipping point of electric cars being as mainstream as non-electric vehicles. But with a whole new type of vehicle come new challenges. One challenge is adapting to charging times. Another is paying closer to attention to range. And another, as some drivers are finding out, has to do with electric car warranties.

Turns out, the warranty that comes with electric cars isn't necessarily quite the same as the one that you might get with your non-electric car. If you really think about it, that's probably not all that surprising -- after all, while they can look the same, electric cars have a completely different makeup under the hood compared to their gas-powered cousins. But understanding an EV warranty could be the difference between winding up having to pay thousands for a battery replacement, or getting one repaired on the house.
It's not all new
Before diving into things like battery warranties, it's worth doing a quick primer on car warranties in general. EVs and internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles usually come with two different warranties -- at least when they're bought new. First, there's the basic warranty (also known as bumper-to-bumper warranty), which covers every part of a car except for basic maintenance, usually for up to three years or 36,000 miles.