Who hasn’t, at one time or another,
had a James Bond fantasy? 007’s jet-set life of glamour, girls and great cars has become synonymous with a
luxurious lifestyle. And at the centre of the movies (some say the star) are the cars and one in particular:
The Aston Martin, the quintessential Bond car. In 2011, Ultimate Drives, a company that hires out supercars
for European road trips, took delivery of the just-released Aston Martin V8 Vantage S in James Bond
grey.
The six-day mission
begins in the luxurious Dolder Hotel in Zurich with a debrief. After stepping into the Aston Martin sweep
over the Swiss Alps, past the Schilthorn’s Piz Gloria ice station — Blofeld’s hideout in
On Her
Majesty’s Secret Service — at 2,900 metres. The next day crosses over the Furka Pass — the location for the
classic car chase in Goldfinger. Mission 3 is to cross the Alps towards the Italian Lakes via the Verzasca Dam in
Switzerland, used in the opening scene of GoldenEye. Day 5 is set aside for relaxing at Villa del
Balbianello next to Lake Como, Italy, used by Bond to recuperate in Casino Royale.
Finally, the return journey passes St. Mortiz, referenced in several movies, and
concludes back in Zurich.
Ultimate Drives, which
organizes the trip, also hires out other supercars, including a Ferrari F458, Maserati GranCabrio, Audi R8
Spider and a Porsche Boxster, for package drives across Europe. Appealing as the Ferrari sounds, it’s the
Aston Martin Vantage that stirs us and our James Bond chimera. Now, where is that
tux?
» ultimatedrives.net •
Photo Courtesy: Ultimate
Drives
