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The Arts Intel Report

The Great James Bond Car Robbery

In 1986, Anthony Pugliese, a Florida real-estate mogul, bought the most recognizable car in the world: James Bond’s silver Aston Martin DB5. The car made its Hollywood debut in 1964, when the original James Bond, Sean Connery, used it to chase down international villains in Goldfinger. Thirteen years after Pugliese won the Aston Martin at auction, the car—insured for $4 million more than its sales price—was stolen from its private hangar in the Boca Raton Airport. In this series, the actress Elizabeth Hurley looks at the car’s history and the mystery of (and theories about) its theft, which remains unsolved 25 years later. To help tell the story, Hurley, who starred in the Bond-inspired Austin Power movies, enlists a man who’s been on the case for years, the CEO of Art Recovery International, Christopher Marinello. Listeners can join the ongoing recovery: Marinello promises that people with clues leading to the car’s recovery could pocket a six-figure reward. —J.D.

Sean Connery leans on a silver Aston Martin DB5 in the Swiss Alps while shooting “Goldfinger,” 1964 © Shawshots/Alamy Stock Photo.