Aston Martin is Back in Formula 1, and the Car Has a Fitting Nickname

Aston Martin is back in Formula 1 racing after 61 years. Aston Martin is most notable for their appearances in James Bond movies. From Sean Connery’s DB5 in Goldfinger in 1964 and again in Thunderball in 1965, to the throwback rebuilt DB5 in Goldeneye (1995), Tomorrow Never Dies (2007), Casino Royale (2006) & Skyfall (2012). We’ve seen James drive a DBS V12 (Casino Royale and my personal favorite), a V12 Vanquish (Die Another Day, which also sports my Jaguar xkr 100 in it), the V8 (The Living Daylights), and a DBS (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service). Bottom line, Aston Martin and James Bond go together like tea and crumpets. It just fits. So it’s only fitting that the nickname for the latest adventure for Aston Martin is a James Bond girl. The AMR21 will be known as “Honey Ryder”, which is Ursula Andress’ character in the very first James Bond film, Dr. No. Perfect choice as James Bond, 007, started a new chapter for Aston Martin just like F1 is a new chapter for Aston.

When James switched to a BMW Z3 as his primary car in the 1995 Goldeneye film (after starting the film with the previously mentioned DB5), the world went nuts. Why would James Bond drive a BAVARIAN car? Well, ends up BMW paid more than Aston Martin did for the rights to be the primary vehicle for James (a reported 80 million pounds in 2001 for 3 movies which is 133 million pounds in 2021or $172,500,000 in US money today.) Tomorrow Never Dies featured a 750iL and The World is Not Enough showcased a Z8. So basically, BMW was a product placement. BMW did increase their sales of the BMW Z3 during that time and they will forever be known as the “car that wasn’t an Aston in a Bond film”.

After the Bavarian experiment, Aston and Bond were reunited. Ford purchased Aston in 1991 and with deep pockets, Aston got back on top of luxury and 007. In 2002, Die Another Day, it was the first time a Bond film featured a modern, on-sale Aston Martin: V12 Vanquish. This was a game changer for Aston Martin and the brand surviving.

So as they start off today, it’s time to tip your hat to Aston Martin and Honey Ryder as she takes her maiden voyage. It might not be Ursula slowly walking out of an ocean in a white bathing suit, but it’s pretty damn close.