Boat Upper Standoff Bracket 6529n Marine Depot Molded Plastic on 2040-parts.com

Coys To Auction Aston Martin Linked To Bond Author Ian Fleming

A 1954 Aston Martin DB 2/4, considered by many to be the inspiration for James Bond’s original Aston Martin in Ian Fleming’s novel Goldfinger, is to be auctioned by international auctioneers Coys this Saturday 12th July at Blenheim Palace. Not only was the DB 2/4 potentially the catalyst for Fleming’s characterisation of the famous fictional spy, but this particular car boasts an equally intriguing history. This Aston Martin, a DB 2/4 Mk I Vantage, was owned by Phillip Ingram Cunliffe-Lister, whose father was Lord Swinton, a close confidant of Winston Churchill, head of MI5 and the Security Executive during WWII, and Ian Fleming’s boss.

BAC Mono

Another name to emerge amidst the numerous English niche manufacturers, are Briggs Automotive. Taking the fight to cars like the Aerial Atom and Caparo T1, the BAC Mono is a lightweight carbon fiber tubbed single seater, proving that once again less is more in terms of performance. Boasting a kerb weight of just 540kg, the single seat ‘ultra high performance, road legal sports vehicle' was produced using race-bred technology in order to deliver a purist driving experience.

One lap of the Web: The 917 song, eating an engine block and Saab sputters back to life?

-- Your author can attest to the aural joy of a properly tuned Porsche flat-six (cooled by air, please), but FlatSixes has posted a video of a 12-cylinder 917K lapping Monza at full-tilt that'll make your mouth water. -- We're all aware of what happens to "end-of-life" vehicles: The crusher or, in many cases, the shredder takes what was once someone's pride and joy and returns it to raw materials. But have you ever seen it happen?