booking trustworthy: Christie's dips a toe back in the car auction business with James ...

A pre-production replica BMW Z8 Roadster made for The World Is Not Enough. Photos courtesy Christie?s.

Christie?s made a well-publicized exit from selling old cars a few years back after a debacle involving what was supposed to be an eight-figure Auto Union at Retromobile, and has since seemed perfectly happy to leave the melee to others. But in a new James Bond memorabilia auction, their?fa?ade?has cracked a little with the inclusion of three cars, more or less.

The star lot isn?t this (Chevy ZZ4 350-powered) Z8; rather it?s a screen-used?2008 Aston-Martin DBS,?used by Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace. I?m not entirely sure that the provenance justifies a??100,000 to ?150,000 ($162,400 to $243,600) estimate, as asking prices seem to be steady around $150,000. On the other hand, never bet against Bond.

Like the Z8, the studio didn?t destroy a real DB5 for the upcoming Skyfall: the Propshop at Pinewood Studios constructed this neat?1/3 scale miniature model. Confusingly, this is one of 10 lots offered in a live auction (I think) that complements the online auction. The scale should make it about 60 inches long.

And then there?s Snooper Dog, which may or may not potentially be an operating remote control vehicle. The late Desmond Llewelyn?s Q operated it, which I think adds more value than anything else. Plus there?s a poster signed by Duran Duran as part of the same lot, for some reason. And now you, too, can have the song stuck in your head.