30th Sep 2022
No Time To Lose
by Adrian Hailwood
There is a great camaraderie amongst the successive incarnations of James Bond, unbeknownst to us all, as each one hung up his Walther PPK, he put his car, or what was left of it, into secure storage to be lovingly refurbished for future use. When he needed an ‘all-analogue’ escape vehicle to avoid being tracked en route to Scotland in Skyfall, Daniel Craig could rely on the DB5, tucked away by Connery after Thunderball. Burned to the bones by Silva at the end of the film, the DB5 was lovingly restored by Q to allow Bond and Madeleine Swann to drive away at the close of Spectre.
After writing off the 'Aston Martin DB5' (an E46 M3 under the skin) in a smoke-and-bullet-filled Italian piazza, No Time to Die sees Bond slide the covers off a V8 Saloon last seen in ‘The Living Daylights’. This is definitely Dalton’s, with the same model, colour, and number plate. Launched in the late 1970s this was the fastest four-seater production car of its day and is described by Aston Martin as ‘Britain’s first true supercar’. This is the car Bond drives to his meeting with M and his 007 replacement.
The Omega Seamaster in No Time to Die is worn by both 007s, appearing on Bond’s wrist in Jamaica and London and on Nomi’s in the MI6 office. This is the most military of all his watches to date with its MOD stores ‘crow's foot’ mark on the dial. This lightweight titanium-cased Seamaster is fitted with both a Milanese mesh bracelet and a NATO strap.
Nomi shifts to a 38mm Aqua Terra for the final mission while Bond stays with the Seamaster, having had an EMP device added by Q to disable nearby electronics.
This week Collecting Cars and Watch Collecting bidders had a rare opportunity to grab the perfect 007 starter-kit, as both an Omega Seamaster ‘No Time to Die’ and a 1979 Aston Martin V8 Coupe went live on site. The car was a rare Series 4 ‘Oscar India’ variant owned by the seller for the last 20 years finished in a deep blue with cream leather interior. The watch was a single-owner complete set bought directly from an Omega Boutique.
Both lots sold, although the Official Secrets Act prevents us from revealing who to.
