[MkB]

Now on the CBn main page...

Aston Martin Prepped For 'Quantum of Solace' Action Scene At Lake Garda

Photos and video available

Videos: Aston Martin On 'Quantum of Solace' Set At Lake Garda

The film's 'best gadget' has a starring role in major action sequence

Aston Martin DBS Accidentally Plunges Into Lake Garda

Bond car veered off the road while being driven to 'Quantum' set

'Quantum of Solace' Press Conference Held This Past Weekend

'Quantum of Garda' at Tremosine, Italy

'The whole thing was a bit James Bond like'

Aston Martin driver comments on the incident and feels lucky to be alive

Second Car Crash On 'Quantum of Solace' Set In Italy

Greek stuntman ends up in hospital with head injuries

'Quantum' Filming Suspended In Italy; Accident Investigations Ongoing

Injured stuntman 'doing as well as can be expected'

Stuntman Involved In 'Quantum' Car Crash In Stable Condition

Plus a look at the site of the accident

Spy Video From 'Quantum of Solace' Lake Garda Press Conference

Sneak peeks at the Aston Martin and chase location

Examining What Went Wrong In 'Quantum' Action Sequences

Times article takes a look at the stunt-filled opening sequence

Source: http://trentinocorrierealpi.repubblica.it/.../home/1971437/1

I bolidi di 007 sfrecciano sul Garda
I bolidi di James Bond sonio sbarcati sul lago di Garda. Stuntmen e tecnici inglesi hanno sguinzagliato per le strade di Dro dieci auto di scena che saranno utilizzate per le riprese del nuovo film della saga ("007 Quantum" il titolo italiano). Ci sono cinque preziosissime Aston Martin Dbs con motore 6000 V12 da 510 cavalli, affiancate da altrettante Alfa Romeo 159 Ti nere da 3000 di cilindrata e 250 cavalli
(29 marzo 2008)

For the less Italian skilled ones, here's the gist of the story: these are pics of the QoS stuntmen preparing the filming on the shores of the Lake Garda, a couple of weeks ago. There are 10 cars: 5 Aston Martin DBS (6000 V12, 510 horsepower engine), and 5 black Alfa Romeo 159 TI (3000, 250 horsepower engine)

EDIT: as said in this post below, here is also a link to a brand new video on YouTube showing the Aston Martin during rehearsals, with a contraption to hold the camera:
http://www.youtube.c...h?v=1c8sSlF8hfM
Enjoy!

[The Dove]

Awesome!! Just totally awesome!!! Great find, MkB!! I love the Alfa Romeos.. They'll complement the Aston Martin very nicely!!

[Professor Dent]

Boys with toys... Great photos!

[Dell Deaton]

Like the colors.

[marktmurphy]

Nice pics; of course the 159 doesn't stand a chance against the Aston; I wonder what the angle is.
A non-Ford car in a big sequence too; that's interesting.

And is the Aston a different colour to the last? It looks darker, but the 'Casino Ice' colour of that could look darker depending on the light. I think it probably is a bit charcoal. Looks like it's left hand drive too, which I'd be a little disappointed about.

[MkB]

At first it seemed to me a shade darker, but on second thought, it must be because there's not much light (the sky seems to be quite cloudy). However, I'd prefer a lighter battleship grey.

[Mharkin]

Thanks for these pics. Very nice, indeed.

[HildebrandRarity]

Nice, MkB! Very nice!

Given the above specs, HOW is a 3 litre engined Alfa with a 260 bhp disadvantage possibly going to live with the 6 liter engined Aston?

The answer could possibly lie in two probabilities:

- Local knowledge by the Alfa driver of the twists, turns and undulations of the ribbon of road on which the chase takes place; and

- The chase takes place primarily around a lot of bends and corners (as opposed to staight lines) and the local driver has his Alfa's handling tuned to finely acute levels with superior suspension settings and tire/tyre pressures to maximize his/her local knowledge.

Lovely to see. Only in the James Bond heightened universe! Can't ing wait to visit Tuscany and the Lake district in July and for the opening of this mouth-watering film in early November!

[MarcAngeDraco]

Great pics! Like markt, I wonder if there's some angle that will make this chase more believable, as a straight up chase between a DBS and a 159 would seem... well, like not much of a chase.

I had originally thought the 159 might be a police vehicle, as they appear to be used as police vehicles quite a bit in Italy. But with no markings to indicate such, perhaps not. Unless it is some sort of unmarked police vehicle...

[HildebrandRarity]

MarcAngeDraco, on 13 April 2008 - 16:41, said:

Like markt, I wonder if there's some angle that will make this chase more believable, as a straight up chase between a DBS and a 159 would seem... well, like not much of a chase.

See post #8 above for my thoughts on this...the Aston might be heavier and less agile around tight hairpins, etc. and James Bond's local knowledge of the roads may be significantly less than the Alfa driver's.

MarcAngeDraco, on 13 April 2008 - 16:41, said:

I had originally thought the 159 might be a police vehicle, as they appear to be used as police vehicles quite a bit in Italy. But with no markings to indicate such, perhaps not.

They brought five of each and they seem to be testing only. There may be two or three of the five which may have the police markings?

Also, it would be interesting to see which marque they use to film from. Perhaps they're using Astons and Alfas to film FROM as well?

[MkB]

About the Alfa 159,

Spoiler

we know from news in another thread (highly spoilerific, caution) that Italian police cars will be involved in the chase - and will be ill-fated, by the way. So, as the Italian police and Carabinieri are frequently equipped with Alfa 159, it seems to me most likely that the AR 159 are police cars - maybe unmarked, or to-be-marked, time will tell

[marktmurphy]

MarcAngeDraco, on 13 April 2008 - 17:41, said:

Great pics! Like markt, I wonder if there's some angle that will make this chase more believable, as a straight up chase between a DBS and a 159 would seem... well, like not much of a chase.

But then of course very rarely have previous Bond chase has seen evenly matched cars: Lotus Esprit against a Ford Cortina? DB5 against those big heavy Mercedes? Even the Aston last time was only chasing Jaguar XJs- which are very quick but easily outclassed by an Aston- they had a fair lead on Bond, though, so perhaps that's something we have here.

HildebrandRarity, on 13 April 2008 - 17:48, said:

the Aston might be heavier and less agile around tight hairpins, etc. and James Bond's local knowledge of the roads may be significantly less than the Alfa driver's.

The Aston would easily take a bend faster than that Alfa; it's a sportscar, if not a supercar.

MkB, on 13 April 2008 - 18:01, said:

About the Alfa 159,

we know from news in another thread (highly spoilerific, caution) that Italian police cars will be involved in the chase - and will be ill-fated, by the way. So, as the Italian police and Carabinieri are frequently equipped with Alfa 159, it seems to me most likely that the AR 159 are police cars - maybe unmarked, or to-be-marked, time will tell

Right; then I suppose

Bond is chasing the 159 but is hampered by the many police cars chasing him. Presuambly the black Alfa isn't being chased by the police.

[HildebrandRarity]

Should this thread not be under spoilers?

[marktmurphy]

Depends what you class as spoilers. I don't think that having a car chase in a Bond film is all that surprising, and if you don't want to know any more about it, it's probably best not to open and read it. The clue as to what it's about is in the title of the thread.

[MkB]

HildebrandRarity, on 13 April 2008 - 19:17, said:

Should this thread not be under spoilers?

I had a flicker of hesitation before creating it here... But I don't think the pics are spoilers in themselves, and I thought it was a pity that all the people who use the spoiler-free skin and never visit the spoiler section wouldn't be able to see them.
But undoubtedly, discussions about the use of these cars in QoS should better take place in the spoiler section.

[Scamp]

Looked as if some body trim panels are missing, gadget positions perhaps?

This post has been edited by Scamp: 13 April 2008 - 10:06 PM

[marktmurphy]

Scamp, on 13 April 2008 - 19:35, said:

Lookd as if some body trim panels are missing, gadget positions perhaps?

Oh yes; how odd- I didn't notice that; the entire side skirt panel is missing. Maybe that's for a camera position mount to attach or something, but I hope you're right about the gadgets!

[Leon]

Well we already know that no gadgets will be involved, just pure driving skill.

[marktmurphy]

Leon, on 13 April 2008 - 20:52, said:

Well we already know that no gadgets will be involved, just pure driving skill.

Who said that? Craig certainly hinted that it would have gadgets at the press launch; I think he said 'tweaked' or 'pimped'; something that implied it wouldn't be standard.


Actually; just realised why they've probably removed the skirt- it may be because the cars are so low that the skirts would have been damaged as they got the cars out of the lorry- it might have hit the top of the ramp.

[MattofSteel]

DBS does seem a few notches darker than normal, almost reminiscent of Lazenby's or Dalton's AM Volante.

[Quantumofsolace007]

very cool looking.

[EyesOnly]

DBS does seem a few notches darker than normal, almost reminiscent of Lazenby's or Dalton's AM Volante.

Just a few notches? DBS seems pretty black to me.

[MkB]

Hot and new!
There's a video on YouTube showing rehearsals with the Aston Martin, with a contraption holding the camera.
Nota: I have no sound on my computer, so I've no idea if there is a soundtrack on this clip, and I can't say if there's any spoiler in the soundtrack. Maybe someone else could confirm?

http://www.youtube.c...h?v=1c8sSlF8hfM

[Royal Dalton]

Nice find, MkB.

Don't worry about the soundtrack. It's spoiler-free.

[Leon]

marktmurphy, on 13 April 2008 - 19:56, said:

Leon, on 13 April 2008 - 20:52, said:

Well we already know that no gadgets will be involved, just pure driving skill.

Who said that? Craig certainly hinted that it would have gadgets at the press launch; I think he said 'tweaked' or 'pimped'; something that implied it wouldn't be standard.

I remember an interview where Daniel Craig said no gadgets in the cars. I have never seen him say anything about the cars being "pimped up". He said the biggest gadget was the engine, no?

[darkpath]

If the chase is downhill, on a winding mountain road, then raw horsepower is actually more of an impediment than an aid. Additionally, if Alfa is lighter, and having an engine half the size does suggest that possibility, then, specifically on a very curvy downhill course, it might have the advantage. I offer as an example of what I am thinking of, the Japanese Manga and Anim

[Captain Tightpants]

I was thinking more of the old Mini vs. Mustang races at Bathurst. The Mustangs used to make the races look very one-sided on the lower half of the circuit, which was mostly long straight sections at full throttle, and you used to wonder why the Minis even bothered ... until they got to the top half of the circuit, which was (and still is) very winding and well suited to them.

[sharpshooter]

Great pics. I love the black DBS, I hope it is used in the final film. It probably suits Craig more actually. A classic car with a mean streak. Dalton and Craig, both Flemingesque Bonds, both drive black Bond cars.

[Captain Tightpants]

When did Dalton drive a black car?

The only vehicle I seem to recall him in was the "winterised" V8 Vantage, and that was a dark green in colour.

[sharpshooter]

The real question is when did Dalton drive a dark green car. Answer = never.

The V8 Vantage in TLD is dark green?