No, Mr Bond, I expect you to drive
It must be a tough life, being a secret agent. All that first-class travel, gorgeous hotel rooms, glamorous locations, stunning food and, of course, being, apparently, devastatingly attractive.
However, there’s a downside, because all the world’s evil masterminds and their numerous henchmen seem hellbent on doing you a mischief. Just as well, then, that James Bond always seems to have the perfect set of wheels at hand to make his escape.
Here, just ahead of the launch of the latest Bond epic, No Time To Die, we list 14 of the (mostly) exquisite vehicles that M’s premier agent has used to leave the baddies both shaken and stirred. And, best of all, these are no show ponies – they’re mainly classics you’re quite likely to see driving on a road near you.
That means you could channel your inner 007. Just stay out of the way if they’re being driven like someone’s life depends on it.
1. Aston Martin DB5 (1963-’65)
Goldfinger, 1964
Ask anyone to name a Bond car and they’re most likely to name the Aston Martin DB5, mainly because it has appeared in almost as many Bond films as Moneypenny.
This car first appeared in Goldfinger, and made subsequent appearances in Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale and Skyfall, and it is set to appear once more in No Time To Die.
Aston Martin DB5 (cont.)
It wowed audiences with its bulletproof rear ’screen, tyre-slashing centre hubs, radar and passenger-side ejector seat. And machine guns.
Up front, it had a 4.0-litre straight-six engine that can propel the car to almost 150mph, which would have been enough to outrun most things back in the car’s heyday.
2. Mercury Cougar XR7 (1967-’70)
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969
Okay, James Bond didn’t strictly escape from the baddies using this car. At least not alone.
He was simply in the passenger seat while his future wife did all the crafty wheelwork, and they fled a quartet of evil-doers in their sinister-looking black Mercedes-Benz 220S.
Mercury Cougar XR7 (cont.)
In real life, the Cougar was based on a lengthened chassis from the Ford Mustang, and was offered with a range of V8 engines, starting with an entry-level 4.7-litre unit rising to a full-blooded 7.0-litre affair.
It also featured what were termed ‘European’ design touches, including a (fake) wooden dashboard, toggle switches for various functions and even a roof console.
3. Ford Mustang Mach 1 (1971-’73)
Diamonds Are Forever, 1971
There’s a downside to being a secret agent, and it’s that your actions sometimes draw the unwanted attentions of the local law enforcement. And so it was in Diamonds Are Forever, when Bond is forced to flee the local police in the course of escaping from the bad guys’ lair.
The Ford Mustang Mach 1 in which he does it certainly looks and sounds the part, but the car chase also contains one of the biggest car chase clangers.
Ford Mustang Mach 1 (cont.)
Bond is forced down an alley, but sticks his Mustang up on to the two right-side wheels to nip through the narrowest end of the alley.
Except, when the car emerges from the alley in the next shot, it’s on the left-side two wheels.
One shot was done at Universal Studios, while the other was done on location in Las Vegas, but no one told the stunt team which side to do…
4. AMC Hornet X (1969-’77)
The Man With The Golden Gun, 1974
The AMC Hornet was a bit of a money-spinner for its parent company.
It was available as a two- or four-door saloon, a hatchback, an estate and a coupe. Think of it as a Ford Escort with a stars-and-stripes influence, plus engines ranging from a 3.3-litre straight-six to a 5.9-litre V8, and you’ll be getting close.
You certainly wouldn’t expect such a humdrum slice of Americana to be the star of one of the most iconic car jumps in movie history, but it certainly is.
AMC Hornet X (cont.)
Bond is using the car to pursue assassin Scaramanga when the baddie appears on the other side of a river.
The only bridge is a broken and twisted affair, but no matter. Bond lines up and goes for it, completing a corkscrew jump that leaves movie-watchers aghast to this day.
And the stunt was done on the first take. Brave.
5. Lotus Esprit S1 (1976-’78)
The Spy Who Loved Me, 1977
Lotus was crafty.
It heard that a new Bond movie was in the making at Pinewood Studios, so the head of PR parked its just-launched Esprit sports car outside. Producer Cubby Broccoli saw it, loved it, and made it Bond’s new wheels.
Lotus gave the production two Esprits, one as a camera car.
Lotus Esprit S1 (cont.)
However, all was not well, because the car was so grippy that the stuntmen were struggling to make the chase look as dramatic as it needed to.
Between takes, Lotus test driver Roger Becker jumped in the car to take it to another location, skidded it out on to the road and was immediately installed as the main driver for the production. He did virtually all of the driving thereafter.
6. Citroën 2CV6 (1972-’85)
For Your Eyes Only, 1981
Admittedly, the Citroën 2CV6 is probably not going to be your first choice of vehicle to use when making good your escape from the evil geniuses of the world. But when your own Lotus Esprit has just blown up, what can you do?
The Citroën 2CV had been around since just after the war, and while some concessions were made to the modern era, such as the rectangular headlights and larger engine, by the early 1980s the car was out of date and out of vogue.
Citroën 2CV6 (cont.)
A starring role in a Bond movie was quite a shot in its arm, because our hero manages to evade numerous nasty types in their far more powerful Peugeot 504s.
That’s because the long-travel suspension allows Bond to drive through olive groves.
His escape was doubtless helped by the fact that the stunt car had a larger and more powerful motor from a Citroën GS fitted by the stunt team, doubling its horsepower.
7. Alfa Romeo GTV6 (1980-’87)
Octopussy, 1983
By the early 1980s, the Alfa Romeo GTV was no spring chicken and was being out-performed by rivals such as the Ford Capri 3.0S and 2.8i.
So, Alfa Romeo gave it a little bit more of a spring in its step with the fitment of a 2.5-litre V6 engine that had the soundtrack of an Italian orchestra.
Just as well, because Bond found himself right up against the clock in Octopussy.
Alfa Romeo GTV6 (cont.)
He needed to make a call, but someone was in the phone box, although she’d left the key to her Alfa GTV6 in the car…
Off blasted Bond, all wailing exhausts and sideways drifts, with German police in hot pursuit in their BMW 5 Series and on a BMW motorcycle.
And he must have made it before the time ran out, because we’re all still here to talk about it.
8. Aston Martin V8 (1972-’89)
The Living Daylights, 1987
It was all change for Bond in The Living Daylights. Not only had Roger Moore decided to hang up his Walther PPK, replaced by Timothy Dalton, but Aston Martin was back, this time in the form of the updated V8 coupé.
Aston Martin had tweaked the 5.3-litre V8 engine to produce 405bhp, and the dashboard featured a mixture of traditional wooden style with modern technology.
Aston Martin V8 (cont.)
Of course, Bond’s example had a few optional extras fitted, as he puts it in the movie. These included laser centre caps for the wheels, a rocket motor, missiles, a police radio scanner and outriggers with skis.
And he certainly needed every piece of tech he could muster to escape from Bratislava to Vienna, eventually crossing the border in a cello case. Yes, really.
9. BMW 750iL (1994-2001)
Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997
The technology used in Bond films is ever-evolving and becoming ever-more advanced, and there are few finer examples than the BMW 750iL he uses in Tomorrow Never Dies.
Its windows are unbreakable by either sledgehammer or bullets (although a missile does pierce them), it has electrified doorhandles, it can emit tear gas, and it’s remote controlled – through a mobile phone.
BMW 750iL (cont.)
Indeed, Bond uses the car to escape from a bunch of ne’er-do-wells in the film, but isn’t actually in it at the time. Clever.
In reality, the E38 7 Series was pretty technologically advanced in itself, with xenon headlights, side airbags and adaptive suspension. BMW also offered the car in Protection and Security forms with body armour and bullet-resistant glass.
10. BMW Z8 (2000-’03)
The World is Not Enough, 1999
Bond’s infatuation (okay, marketing deal) with BMW products continued in 1999’s The World Is Not Enough, in which he was seen driving around in the Munich brand’s stunning, limited-run Z8 roadster.
The car was put into production after a similar 1997 concept, paying homage to the 507 convertible from the 1950s, was extremely well received.
Under the bonnet lay a 4.9-litre V8 engine that produced 395bhp and could hustle the car from 0-62mph in just 4.7 secs. Nippy for the time.
BMW Z8 (cont.)
And it came in handy when Bond had to evade a helicopter that was dead set on blowing him up.
Missiles sprouted from the BMW’s front wings, and the chopper was duly downed.
Then a second helicopter came along and cut the BMW in half. Shame.
11. Aston Martin Vanquish (2001-’07)
Die Another Day, 2002
As the Pierce Brosnan-era Bond slowly turned into a bit of a pastiche of the character, so the tech became ever-more unlikely.
Step forward John Cleese as tech guru Q, who unveils Bond’s latest set of wheels with the statement: “Aston Martin calls it the Vanquish, but we call it the Vanish…”.
Yup, an invisible Aston Martin. Right.
Aston Martin Vanquish (cont.)
Nevertheless, when the car was visible on screen it certainly held the attention, with the Vanquish’s stunning good looks and bellowing V12 soundtrack ensuring the bad guys always knew where to find Bond. Subtle? Not exactly.
It was Aston’s flagship at the time, and was a worthy one at that, with great performance from the 5.9-litre V12, huge mile-covering ability, and decent nimbleness when a suitably twisty road presented itself.
12. Aston Martin DBS (2007-’12)
Casino Royale, 2006
For Casino Royale in 2006, Bond was completely rebooted with a harder, more focused edge, so it was appropriate that the Vanquish was replaced by the Aston Martin DBS, a sharper, higher-performance version of the company’s DB9 coupé.
Performance was as considerable as you’d expect, and the DBS displayed a handling nimbleness not seen in its DB9 sister car.
The DBS wasn’t actually due to be launched until 2007, so Aston provided two handbuilt models for close-ups, and three stunt cars.
Aston Martin DBS (cont.)
In the film, the car saves Bond’s life not once, but twice.
First of all, it contains a medical pack in a hidden compartment that is used to restart his heart following a mid-card-game poisoning incident. It certainly goes a bit beyond what’s contained in your average First Aid kit.
The second time it saves his life is when he crashes it in no half-hearted manner. Indeed, the stunt team set a world record for the most rolls completed in a car, at seven.
13. Jaguar XJ (2010-’19)
Skyfall, 2012
As the film Skyfall wends towards its dramatic denouement, Bond and his boss, M, are under attack from the ever-so-slightly loopy Raoul Silva, so they make their escape in M’s Jaguar XJ, a car that’s seen throughout the film.
The long-wheelbase XJ was Jaguar’s recently launched flagship at the time and featured not only controversial looks that have aged well in the intervening years, but also loads of space and cabin technology. Just the job if you happen to head up the country’s secret service.
Jaguar XJ (cont.)
However, if you’re a car enthusiast, the escape scene will also make you wince horribly, because as Bond puts his foot down and slides around the very first corner, the car whacks the kerb – hard.
You can almost hear the Q branch mechanics sucking in breath through their teeth before uttering: “New wheel, bent suspension – it’s gonna cost you…”
14. Aston Martin DB10 (2015)
Spectre, 2015
What to do if you’re a world-famous Bond director who needs a car and your agent’s favourite manufacturer has nothing new to offer? Well, you go along, spy a design sketch on the wall and convince the company to build it.
That’s exactly what happened for the 2015 film Spectre, and the Aston Martin DB10 was the result.
The company eventually built 10 versions of the car by hand, eight of which appeared in various scenes in the film, plus two show cars.
Aston Martin DB10 (cont.)
The company went along with the scheme because it represented a great opportunity to celebrate 50 years of Bond and Aston Martin (although as we’ve seen, he’s strayed a bit in the intervening years).
One of the two show cars later achieved a remarkable £2.4 million at auction.
Unfortunately, the DB10 meets a soggy end in the film, because after a lengthy chase through Rome it ends up at the bottom of the River Tiber, having allowed Bond to get away from the villainous Mr Hinx in his Jaguar CX-75.