What's unclear at present is whether Aston intends the DBS to be a replacement for the range-topping Vanquish. The new machine's 6-litre V12 is said to produce slightly more power than the Vanquish S - 530bhp against 520bhp - and the DBS will be built in similarly low volume, but it might lack the cachet of being a stand-alone model.

Described by Aston design boss Marek Reichman as being 'more masculine' than the DB9, the two-seater DBS has a more aggressive nose, aerodynamic sills, is 40mm broader at the rear and boasts an aggressive diffuser arrangement. It will also be lighter than the DB9, thanks in part of the adoption of carbonfibre front wings, bootlid and bonnet. Unusually for a Bondmobile, the DBS in Casino Royale has almost no gadgetry (there isn't even an appearance from 'Q', apparently), as part of Bond's new mission to 'grow up'.