BOND AT BEAULIEU

‘M’ opens a new Bond exhibition at Beaulieu and, not shaken but definitely stirred by the spectacle, Steve Havelock is there to capture the moment…

Dum diddy dum dum, dum dum. Dum diddy dum dum, dum dum. Da-da! The iconic James Bond soundtrack blares out as a pristine silver Aston Martin DB5 draws up in front of the waiting crowd inside the National Motor Museum at Beaulieu. Two dinner-jacketed gents emerge. One is ‘M’. No, not that ‘M’ but Montagu. Lord Montagu. And the other is Oscarwinning special effects co-ordinator Chris Corbould and they are here to open a new exhibition celebrating the latest Bond movie No Time to Die.

They gently rolled back a cover to reveal Bond’s DB5 Aston which starred in the film. But this was no concours winner. It had scrapes all down the sides and it was riddled with bullet holes. Surely it was a write-off. But no. It was all smoke and mirrors, an illusion done with clever artwork. It was a stunt replica, one of eight built by Aston Martin especially for the film to be used alongside two incredibly valuable originals. This particular one sported front multi-barrel rotating mini machine guns, multiple LED number plates, an ejector seat, smoke screen, and loads more dastardly gadgets. Corbould said: “We had a lot of fun with this.”

But this is the magic of movies, isn’t it? Especially Bond movies. Oh, they do enjoy a good car or motorbike chase with lots of crashes, gun fights and explosions and that’s what Chris Corbould excels at. This latest offering, which has been on hold because of Covid, is now in the cinemas and here at Beaulieu are some of the vehicles. These include Bond’s 1979 Aston Martin V8, agent Nomi’s 2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, a couple of Land Rovers, a submersible glider and a Triumph 1200 Scrambler motorbike. Also, a crumpled and rather sad looking, satin black 1957 Chevy which had been commandeered by CIA Agent Paloma in the Cuban section of the film. Is this any way to treat a classic?

Bond aficionados may remember the black ’57 Bel Air convertible that featured in the first film, Dr No in 1962.

It’ll polish out!

Exhibition runs until November 2022.

The wraps are off!

Chris Corbould, special effects co-ordinator.

There is also a display of gadgets used in the film and numerous story boards and video displays. There’s no need to rush to the museum though as the exhibition will run until November 2022.

Triumph 1200 Scrambler.