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James Bond's Goldfinger Aston Martin still missing after 17 years

James Bond is inextricably linked with British motoring, especially Aston Martin, but the spy with a license to kill is missing one of his most famous cars. The original DB5 packed with gadgets for the movie Goldfinger has been lost for the last 17 years with no leads as to its whereabouts. This year is the 50th anniversary of the original release of Goldfinger – the third film that came out in the James Bond series. The movie was a smashing success in its day and forged the connection between the super spy and Aston Martin. After all, the car was every little boy's dream with machine guns in the front fenders, tire cutters in the wheels, an ejector seat and other amazing gadgets. After it's life on the big screen, the original gadget car eventually ended up in Boca Raton, FL, at least until 1997. That's when a real-life Auric Goldfinger heisted the DB5, and it hasn't been seen since. A recent report from WPTV from West Palm Beach, FL, talked to people from the area familiar with the caper and its status today. Assuming the car is still intact, Bond's Aston Martin would likely be worth several million dollars on the open market these days. For example, a DB5 that appeared in Goldfinger and Thunderball sold in 2010 at auction for $4.6 million. Check out the video for the full story on this long lost movie star.

The Aston Martin Vulcan AMR Pro is a Le Mans-derived supercar

The Aston Martin Vulcan is a car filled with superlatives. It's one of the fastest and rarest cars in the world, with just 24 of the 820-horsepower track-only supercar in existence. The car packs a 7.0-liter naturally aspirated V12, a 6-speed sequential transmission, and some of the most visually striking bodywork of any modern performance car. Aston Martin is now offering an AMR Pro performance pack with tech derived from the automaker's Le Mans-winning racecars. The main difference between the original car and the Vulcan AMR Pro model is aero. The car gets a whole host of upgrades that help channel air over, under, and around the car better than before. The car's other big change is a shorter gear ratio. The goal was to make the Vulcan AMR Pro more planted and more responsive in an effort to reduce lap times. The front wheel arches get louvred carbon-fiber panels to extract air and reduce lift. Dive planes have been added to the nose, complimented by a large splitter. Both will help front-end lift and improve steering response. More efficient use of carbon fiber means the engine cover weighs about 11 pounds less than before. Out back, the Vulcan AMR Pro gets a new dual-plane rear wing. It's far bigger and more elaborate than the standard car's wing, featuring a 20mm Gurney flap. The slotted endplates feature 15mm Gurney flaps. It simply looks the business. Aston Martin says all of the additional aero bits increase downforce from 2,323 lb-ft to 2,950 lb-ft. That's a huge increase on any car, much less one that was already packed with aerodynamic tricks. By comparison, the Aston Martin Racing Vantage GTE that was the class winner at Le Mans only has 2,290 lb-ft of downforce. The Aston Martin Vulcan was a car designed without limits, restraints, or regulations. It's a track-only car, but it's not built for any racing series. It's simply meant to go around a track very, very fast. With the AMR Pro pack, those 24 owners should be happier than ever. Related Video:

Tesla loses top communicator Simon Sproule to Aston Martin

Looking for a new job? Have experience working in a frenetic environment, promoting cutting-edge mobility products for a demanding boss determined to change the way we travel on this planet, as well as how we trek to others? We hear Tesla Motors just might have an opening for such a person. Again. Simon Sproule, the electric automaker's vice-president of communications and marketing is vacating his cubicle after a mere six months in order to become the chief marketing officer (CMO) over at Aston Martin. That position had gone begging for a year until this appointment. Once he's settled into his new digs, Sproule will again be breaking rock with former Nissan associate Andy Palmer who himself recently took the top spot at the British luxury marque. The move comes at what seems like an inopportune time for Tesla. It has a big D product announcement – suspected to be an all-wheel-drive update of the Model S – scheduled just two days from now and the reveal of its "mass market" Model ? early next year. The company declined our offer to comment on the situation. Aston Martin, on the other hand, should be happy to finally have someone at the marketing helm, what with the recent dropping of the veil from its Lagonda sedan and what's likely to be a bevy of new product built on its forthcoming platform. News Source: PR WeekImage Credit: Haruyoshi Yamaguchi / Bloomberg via Getty Images Green Marketing/Advertising Aston Martin Tesla simon sproule