By Matt Nixson
Countless adversaries have tried and failed to put James Bond out of action, but all it took to defeat 007 last week was a flat car battery.
Bond star Pierce Brosnan took the R2,5-million gadget-laden Aston Martin on a test drive during filming for the new Bond movie, Die Another Day, and broke down.
Aston Martin and parent company Ford had made it their mission to get Bond back into his traditional British car following a brief flirtation with the German firm, BMW.
| Designers created a R7-million winter set at a disused RAF airfield |
The high-tech car is capable of reaching 400kph. But Bond's had to be jump-started by crew members during filming in Gloucestershire.
Movie-makers had hoped to film stunt scenes on a frozen lake in Iceland, but the real ice was too thin to carry the weight of the car.
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So designers created a R7-million winter set at a disused RAF airfield with a 90-strong crew filming over five weeks.
Hoards of fans descended on Blue Egg Studios in the Cotswolds in the hope of catching a glimpse of Brosnan. Onlookers even climbed on packing crates and sat on top of vans to watch the making of the 20th Bond film.
Laura Coombes (16) said, "Pierce is the best Bond and the best-looking."
| 'Pierce is the best Bond and the best-looking' |
Brosnan, whose stamina clearly failed to match that of his famous character, took a breather beneath a gazebo between scenes.
The conked-out car is not the first setback to have hit the making of the new 007 movie, which also stars Oscar winner Halle Berry.
Insiders say Die Another Day features some of the best stunts ever seen in a Bond film. But there were fears for its star after Brosnan suffered a knee injury while filming action scenes on a Cornwall beach in February.
Reports at the time said the actor, who celebrated his 49th birthday on the set of the film, flew to Los Angeles for treatment.
But he was back in front of the cameras after just two weeks' rest and recuperation following surgery.
The star's family life has also been hit by traumas during the making of the new movie. Brosnan's eldest son Chris was taken into hospital in a coma following a night out with friends in March.
The actor's 29-year-old adopted son had spent the evening partying at the China White club in London's West End before going to the flat of one of the nightclub owners.
Paramedics were called when he collapsed and he was taken to hospital, where he was revived.
The film producer has a troubled past, battling against drink and drug addiction, and was jailed for three months for drunken driving in 1997.
Chris Brosnan's emergency came just days after his half-brother, Sean, was taken to hospital having been seriously injured at his public school.
The 18-year-old suffered a stomach injury while using the gym at R270 000-a-year Millfield in Somerset.
Despite the distractions, Die Another Day - the follow-up to the hit The World Is Not Enough - is on schedule to be released in November.
The movie has been shrouded in secrecy since filming began at London's Pinewood Studios in January, but some sources believe it will be the most exciting Bond movie yet.
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