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The Aston Martin DBS is a GT car produced by the British manufacturer Aston Martin Lagonda Limited from 1967 to 1972. The DBS was featured in the 1969 James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service and very briefly in the following film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971).

A new version of the DBS, based heavily on the Aston Martin DB9, is featured in the 2006 film Casino Royale, Quantum of Solace (2008) and the 2010 video-game Blood Stone (see Aston Martin DBS V12).

Overview

The DBS was intended as the successor to the Aston Martin DB6, although the two ran concurrently for three years. Powered by a straight-6 engine, it was produced from 1967 until 1972, eventually being phased out in favour of the DBS V8 and the Aston Martin Vantage.

It was a larger coupé than the DB6, with four full sized seats, but was powered by the same 4.0 L engine as the previous car. Claimed engine output was 282 bhp (210 kW; 286 PS), but a no-cost vantage spec engine option substituted Italian made Weber carburettors for the DBS' original SU units, thereby upping output to an advertised 325 bhp (242 kW; 330 PS).

The DBS was intended to have a more "modern" look than the previous series of Aston models (the DB4 through DB6), and it incorporated a fastback style rear end and squared off front grille, atypical of Astons, but very much then in vogue in automotive design circles of the late sixties. Trademark Aston design features, such as a bonnet scoop, knock off wire wheels, and side air vents with stainless steel brightwork were however retained.

James Bond's DBS

DBS Roadside OHMSS

The DBS during the concluding scenes of On Her Majesty's Secret Service.

The DBS was used by James Bond in the 1969 film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. Although not used in any major action sequences the Aston Martin is driven by Bond in various scenes including the ending where the car is decorated with flowers for his wedding to Tracy. Two cars were lent by Aston Martin for the film; one was used for the studio scenes and a second for the exterior shots. Both cars were registered as GKX 8G.

Unlike Bond's previous car, the Aston Martin DB5, no gadgets were seen in the DBS other than a custom-built storage compartment. Neatly tucked away inside the passenger glove-box are, what appear to be, the disassembled components of an Armalite AR-7 survival rifle; a rifle stock, a suppressor, and a scope. Notably, the DBS also lacked the bullet-proof glass of its predecessor - in the final scenes of the film, Bond's new wife, Tracy, is shot and killed while sitting in the car.

The DBS also appears in a single scene in the subsequent Bond film, Diamonds Are Forever (1971). The vehicle can be seen in the background of the Q-Branch workshop (being fitted with missiles of some kind) as Bond talks with Q on the telephone.

Gadgets

DBS - Hidden Compartment Weapon Compartment — As with the Aston Martin DB5 before it, the DBS contains a compartment for concealing weapons. In this case, the glove compartment holds a dismantled sniper rifle, the pieces of which sit in red felt moulding.

Other appearances

An Aston Martin DBS was later used in the short-lived TV series The Persuaders! (1971–1972), in which Roger Moore's character Lord Brett Sinclair drove a distinctive "Bahama Yellow" (orange/gold) 6-cylinder DBS that, through the use of alloy wheels and different badges, had been made to look like the later DBS V8 model.

The car also appears in the James Bond's DLC of the video game Forza Horizon 4 : Best of Bond Car.

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