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[DarkMetroid]

Metroids.

Skree, goddamnit.

By the by, Doctor Crocomire is still awesome

[Thunderchin]

The badge of my favorite car brand.

Here is a larger version, as well as the car that defined that brand. (And is my dream car.)





(Yes, call me a car nut if you will. They're AWESOME!!!)

[DM-92]

Can you name it and give us some of it's history?

[Thunderchin]

Can you name it and give us some of it's history?

Yes, I can.

It's a 1964 Aston Martin DB5. This one is the stock configuration, unfortunately, Q's modifications don't come standard.
The history behind this awesome coupe reaches way back to its inception, when it was involved in what is arguably the most famous product-placement deal in modern cinema.

That's right, this started out as James Bond's ride in style in the movie "Goldfinger." A heavily modified version featuring tire-mounted cutting blades, smoke screens, oil slicks, tracking devices, front machine guns, bulletproofing, and an ejector seat managed to assist Bond in holding off Auric Goldfinger's henchmen...for a short time anyway. Oddjob managed to trick Connery's Bond into crashing, using a mirror to make Bond think there was an oncoming car. Bond swerved right into the side of a building.

Although it went fast on film, this car is by today's standards rather anemic. A triple-carburetor 4.0L engine produced all of 282 horsepower, which through a five-speed manual only brought the car to 145 miles per hour. Poor handling (as was common in cars of the Sixties) in addition to anemic engine meant this car would barely manage to keep up with the gold-plated Rolls Royce driven by Goldfinger. And the henchman cars didn't have the burden of all that gold! (Mind you, this is BEFORE we factor in the weight of all the gadgets.)

It has since made several comebacks, in the films GoldenEye (for the DVD, not the N64!), Tomorrow Never Dies, and Casino Royale, as well as pretty much every Bond game involving driving. This car is Bond's quintessential car, and when asked about Bond's cars most fans' first thought was, and still is, "DB5."

[DM-92]

That was mostly a movie review...

[Thunderchin]

That was mostly a movie review...

Yeah, pretty much. I don't know how else to describe the history and achievements that car has racked up! Its most famous role and a description of the car itself...Isn't that what you asked for?

[DM-92]

The origins of the car... It was built before Bond...
Why was it built? What improvements were there from it's predeser? And why was production stopped after only a couple years?

[Thunderchin]

The origins of the car... It was built before Bond...
Why was it built? What improvements were there from it's predeser? And why was production stopped after only a couple years?

You could have asked that in the first place! I was just describing what made it so famous.

(I may as well write a research paper about this.)

The predecessor was the DB4 series of cars, natch. The DB5 is basically an evolved (in the Pokemon sense of the term) version of the DB4, which was in turn an extension of the DB Mark III series. In each evolution, the car grew to be so different as better technology was added on over the years, that the guys at Aston decided to update the designation.

This exact process also proved to be the demise of the DB5, as improvements eventually evolved it into the DB6. (And so on over the next 40 years. The current stage of evolution is the DBS series.)

Exact improvements that caused the jump from DB4 to DB5 include:
Engine: Upgraded from 3.7L straight-six twin-carburetor (240 hp) to 4.0L straight-six triple-carb (280 hp)
Body Styling: Became more aerodynamic, longer front-to-back and shorter ground-up
Transmission: Went from 4-speed (3.54:1) to a 5-speed (both manual, and I can only find gear ratios for the DB4.)
Suspension/Chassis: Went from rack/pinion steering, front-independent, rear-drive setup with disc brakes to a similar setup involving enhanced servo-assisted brakes.

(If you want performance comparisons, then I will write a paper about the DB5 instead of clogging the thread with further discourse.)

[kronoridley]

Different picture of the same character (Black Rock Shooter).
Credits to ChozoGal for the drawing, and Bryyonian for coloring the eye and flame.

[fox mulder]

IT'S V-V-V-VEGA!
Ahem. Yeah it's Vega.

[DarkMetroid]

Whoo, Vega.

Also, nice picture Krono!

[kronoridley]

Like I already said, you should say that to ChozoGal. She drew it. All I did was put it up.

[DarkMetroid]

I just said 'nice picture', not that you drew it

But, it is true, ChozoGal did a nice job.

[Thunderchin]

But, it is true, ChozoGal did a nice job.

Yes she did. I love it. I may as well make my own request to her. (Curly Brace! Either that or Slash.)

Back on topic, please see attachment. I cropped/scaled in GIMP, now I show off.

[Haloid]

My avy is something that my sis drew. Ain't it perty?