Aston Martin recently announced that they are remaking the DB5 as part of its Continuation series. But unless you have a direct line of contact to the guys at Gaydon, chances are that you’ll not be able to get your hands on one of those, even if you have a lot of money – as they’re only making 25 of that.
So what should you do if you really want to feel like James Bond, and have quite a bit (read: a lot) of money to spare? Thanks to a collaboration between The Little Car Company and Aston Martin, you can now get your hands on an all-new DB5… well, a smaller one at least.
It’s called the DB5 Junior, and it is a two-thirds scale replica of the original Aston Martin DB5. According to the press release, the two companies spent 15 months to recreate the DB5 down to the smallest detail, based on Aston Martin’s reference 3D scan of the original car to ensure accuracy and authenticity.
So how small is small, exactly? The DB5 Junior measures in at around 3 metres long and 1.1 metres wide, which the company says can easily accommodate one adult and one child side by side, “to allow different generations to share the love of driving”.
It’s built on an aluminium honeycomb chassis paired with a composite body, providing it a “very rigid” platform while weighing only 270 kg. Powering the DB5 junior is a “torque-laden” electric motor that’s capable of delivering up to 5 kW (6.7 hp) to the rear wheel. A removable battery pack is stored under the bonnet, giving the DB5 Junior a driving range of 16-32 km.
Want more power? Stepping up to the DB5 Vantage Junior (just like the original DB5 and DB5 Vantage) will net you a carbon fibre body and a higher-performance powertrain that’s capable of making 10 kW (13.4 hp), with the power sent to the rear wheels via a limited slip differential – yes, you read that right.
The regular DB5 Junior can propel you up to a top speed of 48.2 km/h, while top speed of the Vantage is still at an “unconfirmed level”. Fortunately, there are ventilated disc brakes on all four corners complemented by regenerative braking, as well as a “rally-style” hydraulic handbrake to slow you down, or you know, kick your rear out into a slide.
Aside from the powertrain, everything else is made to be as accurate as possible to the original car, just sized down by a third. These include the steering wheel, dashboard dials, aluminium pedals, working lightings, and even a working suspension set-up!
The car is also finished in the iconic Silver Birch as standard, though buyers are invited to customise their DB5 Juniors into any of the colours in Aston Martin’s contemporary palette. The cars will also come with a range of optional accessories including suitcases, additional batteries, covers, toolkits and custom number plates.
Only 1,059 units of these will ever be built – the same exact number of Aston Martin DB5s to ever roll out of the factory. Existing owners of the original cars will also be given first refusal to match the chassis number of the Junior cars to their own full-sized ones.
Want one of these? The DB5 Junior starts at GBP35,000 (~RM193,137) while the DB5 Vantage Junior starts at GBP45,000 (~RM248,319). They’re not cheap (for context, a brand-new Honda Civic Type-R is priced around GBP34,000), but just look at it this way way, they’re less than two-thirds the price for one of those DB5 Continuations (GBP2.75 million)…
Each purchase of the DB5 Junior cars will automatically enroll you into the prestigious Aston Martin Owners Club, and three copies of of the exact specifications of your car will be created to be kept at Aston Martin’s Gaydon Headquarters, Aston Martin Works in Newport Pagnell (where the original DB5s were built), and The Little Car Company’s headquarters.
New owners of the DB5 Junior cars will also receive complimentary membership to The Little Car Club which allows them to take part in exclusive track day events, where “they, their children and grandchildren can drive their DB5 Juniors on the most prestigious racetracks”. How cool is that?!
IMAGE GALLERY
