Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/299259
S P O R T I N G C L A S S I C S 7 6 M y name is Bond, James Bond." In the annals of the spy thriller genre, no other secret agent has achieved the iconic status of Ian Fleming's 007. An agent with lethal skills and a license to kill, Bond, as his millions of fans know, is a dashing and debonair figure, a man with refined tastes – right down to the preparation of his martinis and his choice of personal sidearm. A precision-engineered and utterly reliable pistol that features elegant, flowing lines, the Walther has "Bond" written all over it. Understated in a gentleman's way, but deadly in the right hands, the PPK was just the right fit for the world's most dashing spy. And, to top it off, its slim design allowed his bespoke suits to drape perfectly, without a hint of a bulge. By the time Sean Connery teamed up with a Walther in the first Bond film, Dr. No, produced in 1962, the PPK was already a pistol of notable acclaim. Like a gold Dunhill lighter, a Rolex Oyster Perpetual or a Mont Blanc pen, the Walther PP and PPK are among the relatively few products that reached the rarefied stratum of the true classic, the ne plus ultra of its type. Walther's history, however, hardly follows the script of the typical corporate success story. Instead, it is a tale that has as many twists and turns as a Bond thriller, with chapters that include two world wars, two dictatorial regimes and several world economic crises. For the " NObOdy dOeS IT beTTeR Two world wars and the destruction of its facility didn't prevent Walther Arms from making legendary pistols. —— by doug Painter —— he Walther PPK, here with Sean Connery in Goldfinger, is a shorter version of the PP (opposite). T