New official exhibit DRIVEN: 007 x Spyscape opened in New York

By: FSWL team

Published:
2019-03-21

DRIVEN: 007 x Spyscape Opens in New York

For FSWL readers, Bond is always news... but the opening of SPYSCAPE, New York’s FIRST James Bond exhibit, is BIG news, especially when it promises to “Reveal the secrets of Bond’s DB5”. Luckily, we had an operative in New York, Bond expert and long-time collector Gary J. Firuta.

He visited the new exhibit at the SPYSCAPE interactive museum and found the focus was on Bond’s technology – especially the iconic Aston Martin. “You’re greeted by three Aston Martin shells on the wall with Bond clips projected onto them,” Gary Firuta reports. “Then there’s a room devoted to the DB5 from the 1995 film GoldenEye [aquired by SPYSCAPE in 2018 for a staggering 2.6 Million USD(!)] which also had booths about the car’s various gadgets and how they worked...”

While visitors might know Bond’s Goldfinger-era car featured a tire-slasher and oil slick pumps – there was also a built-in mechanism for spewing out five-pointed tire spikes that wasn’t seen in the film.

“It was a gadget based on WWII technology that was later censored,” Gary noted.

The Aston Martin tire-slasher, oil slick pumps and five-pointed tire spikes. Photo by Gary Firuta. Copyright © 2019 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

Another room focused on the work of the series’ legendary art director, Sir Ken Adam (1921-2016). Visitors can see his detailed set designs as well as sketches depicting some of the famous Bond gadgets he had a hand in creating. It really shows the influence the brilliant designer had on the early films.

Ken Adam SPYCAPE room New York

The room dedicated to legendary production designer Sir Ken Adam. Photo by Gary Firuta. Copyright © 2019 From Sweden with Love. All rights reserved.

A third room focused on the filmmaking art behind the 2012 blockbuster, SKYFALL which included scale models of the burned out Aston hulk from the film and the Skyfall manor house.

The final room has a projector and seating to watch a montage of Aston Martin-related scenes from GoldenEye, Skyfall and the latest film, 2015's SPECTRE.

Everyone in need of a good read for the ride home can purchase Ian Fleming’s 007 novels and other Spy-related souvenirs in the gift shop.

Ken Adam SPYSCAPE room New York

Firuta summed up by saying, “Casual visitors who don’t know a lot about the series will find it fascinating.”

SPYSCAPE is located at 928 8th Avenue in New York City and is open 10am-9pm most days. Bond Exhibit tickets are 23 USD for adults and 18 USD for children. (On Fridays after 6pm you can also order the perfect Bond beverage - a Martini - to enjoy with the exhibit.)

Editor's Note:
Special thanks to FSWL contributor Mark Cerulli for assisting with this report.

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New official exhibit DRIVEN: 007 x Spyscape opened in New York

“It was a gadget based on WWII technology that was later censored,” Gary noted.

Firuta summed up by saying, “Casual visitors who don’t know a lot about the series will find it fascinating.”

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