NMM at the Movies: The cars of Quantum of Solace

Confession time: In addition to being a car nut, I'm also an ardent fan of Ian Fleming's James Bond 007.

And so tonight, as the first US screenings of Quantum of Solace get underway, we have a feature on the cars appearing in the latest Bond film.

Daniel Craig returns to his role as the famed British secret agent, taking the wheel of the heart-achingly gorgeous Aston Martin DBS in the process.

Even before Q works his armored wizardry, the Aston is a force to be reckoned with, packing a 6.0-liter V-12 good for 510 horsepower and 420 pound-feet of torque.

Olga Kurylenko makes her Bond film debut as Camille Montes. As in Die Another Day, Ford has once again signed a deal to get their cars on screen; Kurylenko drives the plebeian but Euro-chic 2009 Ford Ka subcompact.

With a meager 1.2-liter four, the Ka is more adept at being miserly with fuel than outrunning henchmen, but nonetheless, it's appearance is more so a feature of Madison Avenue than of Fleming himself.

As for the aforementioned henchmen, the Alfa Romeo 159 is their car of choice in Quantum of Solace.

On paper, the 253-horsepower V-6 powered Alfas should be utterly humiliated by the Aston Martin, but toss in a dusty, switchback laden road conspicuous for it's lack of guard rails and the vehicular drama and mayhem nearly writes itself.

Speaking of mayhem, it's worth noting that one of seven Bond-spec Astons drew its dying breath in a plunge into Lake Garda in the Italian Alps while on the way to shooting a chase scene nearby. While driver Fraser Dunn suffered only minor injuries, the $266,000 Aston was declared a total loss.


For more on Quantum of Solace and James Bond's creator, Ian Fleming:

* Quantum Of Solace - Official Movie Site
* Quantum Of Solace on IMdB
* A brief biography of Ian Fleming

Lamborghini "Urus" concept headed to Paris Motor Show

A week after we posted the first teaser pic of Porsche's Panamera, Lamborghini announced the company will launch it's own four-door coupe competitor.

In an announcement to the press, Lamborghini said it will unveil a concept car at next month's Paris Motor Show that is nearly ready for production.

The front-engined, all-wheel-drive four-door sedan will be Lamborghini's third model line, joining the V-10 powered Gallardo and V-12 Murcielago coupes and roadsters.

Company sources also said that the production version may use a smaller engine than the 5.0-liter V-10 currently used in the Gallardo. In such a case, Volkswagen AG - which owns Lamborghini - may elect to use Audi's 4.2 liter V-8 engine, possibly with direct fuel injection, twin turbocharging or both.

Shortly after Lamborghini released two teaser shots of the forthcoming concept, forum members at CarSpyShots.com discovered that the company has recently trademarked the name "Urus."

This name would fit with the company's tradition of naming their automobiles after famous bulls. Urus was the latin root name for the aurochs, the Bronze Age predecessor to modern domesticated cattle. A species known for their immense size and power, the last recorded live urus, a female, died in in the Jaktorów Forest in Poland in 1627.

Lamborghini plans to build about 3,000 units per year, roughly matching the sales target set by Aston Martin for their Rapide four door coupe. Porsche, by comparison, plans to build 20,000 units per year.

Lamborghini has been doing quite well despite months of dour economic news; global sales have rised to 1,309 vehicles in the first half of 2008, up from 1,238 in the same period last year. Pre-tax profits have soared by nearly a third to 35 million Euros year-to-date; in 2007, the company' pre-tax profit was 47.1 million Euros.

[AN]