Podcast to investigate disappearance of famed James Bond car

A new podcast series will investigate the disappearance of an Aston Martin DB5 driven by Sir Sean Connery in Goldfinger.

The gadget-laden vehicle, one of the most recognisable in film history, belonged to Florida real estate developer Anthony Pugliese III when it vanished without trace from an aircraft hangar in 1997.

The car, now thought to be worth more than $25m (£18.2m), has not been seen since.

The mystery will be explored in the eight-part podcast series The Most Famous Car In The World, which is hosted by actress Elizabeth Hurley and offers a $100,000 (£72,800) reward for information.

Leading the investigation is Christopher A Marinello of Art Recovery International, who specialises in recovering stolen treasures.

He has spent more than a decade hunting for the car, which he describes as his “white whale”.

Marinello revealed he is chasing a new lead on the Aston Martin’s whereabouts.

The car, with the chassis tag DP/216/1, was fitted with ejector seats, machine guns and tire-shredders.

It was taken on June 19 1997 from a private jet hangar at Boca Raton Airport. Investigators have been flummoxed since.

The Most Famous Car In The World promises to re-examine the evidence, take a look at some of the more outlandish theories and re-open the original case file.

Dramatising the steal, it will say: “The deafening noise of the airplane’s engines can’t disguise the metallic screech as the chain goes tight and the hook attached to the axle yanks the whole chassis out of the garage.

“The wheels skid on the tarmac as one-and-a-half tons of beautiful British engineering are dragged up a ramp and into the cargo bay of the plane. Within minutes, the most recognizable car in the world will be 15,000 feet up in the sky above Florida. But, for once in its life, the cameras aren’t rolling….”

Hurley said: “I’m a huge fan of James Bond so I’m excited to share this fascinating heist story. I hope this podcast will intrigue 007 fans everywhere and help shine a light on the mystery and see the Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5 returned after all this time.”

The Most Famous Car In The World, from the SPYSCAPE Podcast Network, launches on August 18 on Apple and all major channels.