James Bond made the Aston Martin a cultural icon, since it was the preferred ride for the fictional secret service agent in the spy movie franchise. Now the British performance car brand is getting the spotlight all to itself at the Petersen Automotive Museum with the debut of “Performance and Prestige: A History of Aston Martin.”
“I fell in love with Aston Martin design; they just look so cool and I think that’s where Aston Martin really shines,” said Kristin Feay, assistant curator at the museum.
The museum’s latest exhibition runs from Oct. 31 through October 2026 and marks the first time the Petersen has organized a showcase focusing solely on the luxury British performance brand. It will include 10 vehicles covering the span of the company’s more than 100-year history.
“These are some of the most significant and cool vehicles in the brand’s history,” Feay said.
The company was founded in 1913 by racer Lionel Martin and engineer Robert Bamford. It became known for its sportscars, expensive grand touring vehicles and later as the always juiced up ride of secret agent James Bond after the brand’s DB5 model made its first appearance in the 1964 film “Goldfinger.”
Highlights of the exhibition include the 2021 Valkyrie Spider, an open-top street-legal hypercar with more than 1,000 horsepower and a top speed of 217 miles per hour. Feay got to hear the car turn on when it was being loaded into a freight elevator at the museum.
“Man, that thing is wild. It was a little terrifying because we were in an elevator. It was just like this beast of the road,” she said.
Other highlights include the 1949 DB2 Prototype, a post war sports car that competed at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the 1961 DB4GT Zagato, one of just 19 lightweight grand tourers and the 1979 Bulldog, a one-of-a-kind wedge-shaped concept powered with gullwing doors.
And while the exhibition will mostly focus on the car itself and not on its ties to the famous films, there will be a connection to the spy franchise with the display of a replica of the Aston Martin DB5, which was used as a stunt car in the 2021 James Bond film “No Time to Die.”
“It’s actually pretty cool. If you walk up to it it looks exactly like a DB5 but when you look inside it has a roll cage and racing seats,” Feay said.
Performance and Prestige: A History of Aston Martin
When: Oct. 31-October 2026
Where: Petersen Automotive Museum, 6060 Wilshire Blvd., Los Angeles
Cost: Admission starts at $12 for children and $21 for adults
Information: petersen.org