Daniel Craig has been James Bond for over 14 years. During this time, his iconic character has driven a plethora of different cars. Recently, the vast majority of the bond cars have been Aston Martins. This has led many to question whether Daniel Craig himself drives an Aston Martin in real life.
No, Daniel Craig does not currently own an Aston Martin. Daniel Craig used to drive an Aston Martin, but he auctioned it off for charity. Apart from this, he has a standing relationship with Aston Martin which allows him to test their cars. He also designed his very own Aston Martin in late 2019, which was sold at a hefty premium.
Let’s take a look at Daniel’s Aston, and his relationship with the brand.
Daniel Auctioned His Aston Martin Vanquish
Daniel Craig used to own an Aston Martin Vanquish 2014 Limited Edition. The official name for the car as Aston Martin Vanquish Centenary Edition. For their 100th Birthday, Aston Martin made a 100 different cars, with each of them having their very own production number with them. Naturally, Daniel Craig was given the 7th car due to the designation of James Bond within MI6 (007).
In 2018, Daniel Craig decided to sell his Aston Martin in collaboration with auction house Christie’s. Daniel decided that the proceeds from the auction would all be given to charity. Despite having had the car for four years, he had only driven 1100 miles on it due to living in London and having a hectic schedule.
According to CNBC, the car was expected to fetch around $600,000 due to its pristine condition. While the auction made headlines, the car ended up selling for only $468,500.
Daniel Has a Standing Arrangement With Aston Martin
Daniel Craig has been James Bond for so long that his likeness has pretty much become associated with the brand. As such, it turns out that Daniel has a standing arrangement with Aston Martin that lets him test drive any car from the manufacturer.
Initially, it was reported that Daniel could actually get and keep any car he wanted from Aston Martin for life. However, that turned out to be false. Instead, Daniel can only drive them on a track or road of his choice for a short while.
Daniel Craig himself has said that owning a sports car is not for him since he would have ‘nowhere to park it’. This might be the reason why his Vanquish only had 1100 miles on it when it was sold.
On a related note, Daniel does not do the driving scenes himself in James Bond films. While there was a time when the scenes were shot with Daniel, a stunt double is used instead nowadays for the more intense scenes. Still, Daniel does get to drive the car, and all of the scenes using the Aston Martin are completely real (without CGI).
Daniel Craig Also Designed His Own Aston Martin
To celebrate the opening of ‘No Time to Die’, Daniel Craig collaborated with Aston Martin to design a very special Aston Martin DBS. Staying true to the 007 theme, only 7 of the cars were made. On top of that, the price of the car was $700,007.
Those who purchased the car also got an all-platinum Omega Seamaster Diver 300M, the watch that has been worn by James Bond in films since 1990. On top of that, they also got two tickets (including travel and hotel) to see the film premiere in London. Lastly, they also got a special visit to the Aston Martin factory so that they could watch the DBS in production.
Daniel Craig obviously has a very good relationship with Aston Martin. Apart from advertising for the brand, he has also made numerous public appearances for them. The most well-known of which was at the 1007th Formula 1 race at Silverstone. Aston Martin sponsors Red Bull Racing, which is one of the most successful teams in recent years. Daniel spent a lot of time at the Aston Martin Red Bull Garage, meeting with the engineers, drivers, and the fans.
Sadly, ‘No Time to Die’ is the last Bond film with Daniel Craig. Perhaps, we might see Daniel move out of London after that. If he does, it might be the perfect time for him to once again purchase an Aston Martin, and hopefully rack up more than 1100 miles on it.