James Bond Aston Martin DB5 (silver) - CC04204S

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Was anything else ever so easily lost? I can’t think of anything. As children we would come to lose many other things — faith, innocence, virginity — but nothing was lost as simply as the baddie from a Corgi Bond DB5. There are no official statistics on casualties, but it seems reasonable to assume that the vast majority of them were lost within a few firings, maybe after one, and often within the first few hours of ownership. The toll for Christmas Day 1965 probably puts history’s worst battles in the shade. Corgi's desire to include ever-more exciting features was almost feverish. Opening doors, sliding seats, carefully detailed interiors… the list of innovations goes on and on. And who can forget Corgi's smooth ‘Glide-O-Matic’ working suspension or legendary jewelled headlights? However, the real breakthrough came with the impact of film and television. All of a sudden, the vehicles we saw on the small screen and at the cinema were top of our lists, resulting in a swathe of amazing Corgi Toys such as the Batmobile, Saint’s Volvo and of course James Bond's Aston Martin DB5 with its amazing array of gadgets. Together with new box artwork and eager approval from ATV (although, according to Van Cleemput, no royalties were paid for a licence), the effect in 1965 was electric. The standard Volvo sold 315,000 examples in three years, but the Saint version shipped 321,000 in its first nine months, and went on to sell 1.2m. “I think I had a minor coup [with it] in my export sales days,” recalled Katz. “It sold extraordinarily well.” To open the roof and trigger the ejector seat to jettison Bond’s adversary, Marshall positioned a tiny release button under the Aston’s sill. There was a similar control to deploy the concealed machine-guns, while the pop-up bullet shield in the boot was activated by pushing in the exhaust pipes. Corgi management had to be convinced the miniature mechanisms were strong enough to withstand being played with relentlessly. The ‘as seen on TV’ tag was clearly an enormous draw among toy-car buyers, so Corgi brilliantly exploited the goldmine awaiting a successful collaboration with 007.

WHAT’S THE best car in the world? That is easy: it’s the Ferrari 458 Italia. It’s beautiful and exciting and occupies a perfect central position on a spectrum representing at one end total transport pragmatism and at the other unusable and unaffordable exoticism. The 458 is in the sweet spot.The most popular advice topics — we've got you covered 2035 petrol and diesel car ban: 12 things to know Advice One of the first suggestions offered was a range of models which rarely receive much attention here on Diecast Diaries, but could hardly be more perfect for this time of year. This one was more in relation to an appropriate gift for us to give to younger members of our family, but models which are most definitely designed to stand the test of time. We all know that we wouldn't let inquisitive young minds loose with the latest limited edition model addition to our collections, but we would love to see them playing for hours on end with a range of models designed specifically for them.

The best of everything Gordon Murray T.50 dynamic debut - report Driving Bentley's Blower continuation (video) Video: Revisiting the Jaguar I-Pace in Tokyo › More here...When we consider the high-tech air superiority fighters which patrol the world's skies so effectively today, it's often hard to believe that the first aircraft in this series of aerial dominators first took to the skies almost 110 years ago, one which whilst still primitive in design was intended to prey on other aircraft. The 1968 re-issue was painted silver and came with several extras; revolving number plates and rear tyre slashers

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Corgi released a 50th Anniversary edition of the Goldfinger Aston Martin in 2014 which was a complete sell out and has also become collectable but is not to be confused with the original issue. What I really think about... supercars, America, foreigners, car launches, Top Gear, the battle of the sexes and cars "