Company cars. They’re a minefield of 2.0-litre diesel autos with beige interiors and offensively proportioned Bluetooth kits. Plus, if you drive one, have a quick look around you on the motorway… notice anything familiar?

Thankfully, James Bond doesn’t do company cars. Well, sort of. Because his company is actually The Government, and The Government can afford to give the world’s most conspicuous spy access to something magical. Something old. Something Aston Martin shaped.

Step forward the DB5.

Yes, we’re acutely aware that Bond originally drove a Bentley in the Casino Royale novel, but the Aston Martin DB5 is as much a part of 007’s furniture as are the sardonic, legendary one-liners. So we’re delighted to see it return on the big screen in the upcoming 007 film Skyfall, out 26 October.

Not only that, but Richard Hammond will return on the small screen with a Top Gear special celebrating 50 years of Bond cars, at the end of the month. As executive producer Andy Wilman notes: “Presented solely by Richard, it is, I’m proud to admit, something of an old-school documentary in which Top Gear shuts up, takes a back seat and listens”.

We’ll have more from Skyfall later this month, but for now, feast on this world exclusive clip only available on TopGear.com: Bond somehow manages to bag his superlative company car by giving a very spurious reason…

Have a watch, and then tell us: if not an Aston Martin, what should the world’s least covert spy drive instead?