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Volvo: Safety Beyond the Star RatingsJames Bond Cars: The Illustrious Garage of 007
Agent 007 has been entertaining audiences for over 60 years. With the next movie coming soon, we decided to check out James Bond’s cars.
Secret Agent Man
Hearing the name “James Bond” should spark the tune of the theme song from 007 movies in your head. The different captivating novels and riveting films featuring this man of mystery have been entertaining audiences for over 60 years. James Bond beats the bad guys, gets the girl, and drives off in some of the coolest vehicles around. When it comes to a James Bond car, you never truly know what it’s capable of until it has already happened. There’s James Bond cars with ejector seats, machine guns, invisibility, and even one that turns into a submarine! So, let’s appreciate all of the James Bond cars from over the years, and maybe speculate on which models we can expect to see in the next installment of the franchise.
The Memorable James Bond Cars
Now, Agent 007 has his own garage of options to choose from when he’s going a mission, but he doesn’t seem to always utilize them in every movie. Sometimes he’s found utilizing whatever vehicle is at his disposal. Whether it’s catching a ride from one of the Bond girls or getting away in car he stole, it can be considered a memorable James Bond car.
1961 Sunbeam Alpine II
The first film in the James Bond movie franchise featuring Sean Connery didn’t have a memorable Aston Martin or a book-based Bentley. Instead, it was a light blue 1961 Sunbeam Alpine II convertible sports car speeding over gravel roads. Dr.No was filmed and took place in Jamaica. The Caribbean country didn’t have many sports car options available for a chase scene, except for the lone Sunbeam with an underpowered 2.3-liter 4-cylinder engine. The car’s small stature helped it sneak under the arm of some construction equipment and sent the pursuing LaSalle Funeral Coach off a cliff.
1933 Bentley 3.5 Litre
In the James Bond books, the secret agent has an affinity for early Bentley car models. In the movie adaptation of From Russia with Love, we get to see one of the few examples of a James Bond owned Bentley on the big screen. While relaxing on the riverbank with a Bond girl, 007 gets a notification and rushes to his 1933 Bentley 3.5 Litre with its car phone. It’s a short scene, but pays a nice homage to the books.
1963 Aston Martin DB5
Goldfinger is one of the most coveted of the Bond films. Part of this movie’s allure comes from the first appearance of the most iconic James Bond car ever made, the Aston Martin DB5. We’re first introduced to the car by Q after having walked bond through all the available gadgets. James Bond’s DB5 has bullet proof glass, folding license plates, a radar display, smokescreen, oil slick, front machine guns, and an ejector seat. From this movie on, the James Bond’s Aston Martin DB5 makes a number of appearances and has become synonymous with the character.
1968 Aston Martin DBS
Actor George Lazenby took over the James Bond mantle in the 1969 film On Her Majesty’s Secret Service. A new James Bond means a new James Bond car, so the 1968 Aston Martin DBS filled the role. The car didn’t have too many impactful chase scenes or gadgets, but the Aston Martin sure did look good when it was on screen.
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1
Diamonds Are Forever saw Sean Connery reprise his role as Agent 007 and placed behind the wheel of a 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 as he was being chased through the streets of Las Vegas. The bright red American muscle car evades police and does a stunt where it flips onto two wheels to fit through a tight alley way. Careful movie viewers will notice the car flipped to the other set of wheels within the alley way, which is basically impossible given the space.
1974 AMC Hornet
In The Man with the Golden Gun, James Bond ends up stealing a 1974 AMC Hornet from a dealership showroom. Sheriff J.W. Pepper happened to be looking at the car and ended up going along for a ride as Bond chased down Francisco Scaramanga. The Hornet ended up doing a corkscrew flip through the air over a river during the chase scene. Not bad AMC.
1976 Lotus Esprit S1
Possibly the most advanced available James Bond car was the 1975 Lotus Esprit S1 from The Spy Who Loved Me. This Lotus sports car famously dived into the ocean and transformed itself into a submarine. This Bond car also featured missiles, torpedoes, mines, and the classic oil slick. The Lotus Esprit would make its return in the following movie, For Your Eyes Only, in the form of two different 1980 Lotus Esprit Turbo models.
1985 Aston Martin V8 Volante
The Living Daylights introduces Timothy Dalton as James Bond, and also introduces a new Aston Martin. James Bond’s new car for this film was a 1985 Aston Martin V8. The V8 Volante was the convertible variant seen earlier in the film, but Q suggested “Winterizing it”, which meant fabricating a roof on the vehicle (or just swapping to the hardtop coupe V8). Fun fact about the V8 Volante from the film, it was one of the only Volante models at the time to carry a factory installed Vantage engine. That, and it was owned by then Chairman of Aston Martin, Victor Gauntlett. He asked that it not be used in any stunts though.
1995 BMW Z3
007 films had a short hiatus before returning with Pierce Brosnan as James Bond in 1995’s GoldenEye. The movie was heavily advertised showcasing Bond’s new car being a BMW Z3, but it sadly didn’t have much of a screen presence aside from a showcase at MI6 and a driving scene.
1997 BMW 750iL
The following film, Tomorrow Never Dies, had the James Bond car take on a more significant role. This time, Bond has a gadget laden 1997 BMW 750iL that is capable of being remote controlled via cellphone. The car also features a fingerprint accessed lockbox, high-tech security system, tear gas, missiles, tire shredding tacks, self-fixing tires, super strong body panels, and bullet proof glass. This James Bond car reaches borderline Knight Rider levels of technology.
1999 BMW Z8
While the Z3 was a little disappointing on screen, the BMW Z8 did a little better in The World Is Not Enough. The Z8’s design fit the 007 spy car design more closely and comes with all of the gadgets we expect. Titanium armor, remote control features, missiles, and plenty of other great technology shoved in. I’m sure this James Bond car had a lot more to show audiences, but the car was sadly sawed in half during its chase scene.
2002 Aston Martin Vanquish
Pierce Brosnan’s final appearance as 007 sees him behind the wheel of a 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish in the movie Die Another Day. The Vanquish is the quintessential Bond car, that is if we don’t look at the DB5 or Esprit. MI6 added in the typical ejector seat, torpedoes, missiles, car mounted guns, remote control, and body armor, but the Vanquish also received active camouflage making it virtually invisible. That camouflage may keep it from being seen, but I’m sure it’s pretty hard to muffle a 5.9L V12 engine under the hood.
2007 Aston Martin DBS V12
Daniel Craig enters the 007 franchise starting with the film Casino Royale. The new James Bond does make an appearance behind the wheel of the classic DB5, but his main car of choice for Casino Royale, and the subsequent Quantum of Solace, was the Aston Martin DBS. There isn’t as many spy gadgets as James Bond Cars from previous films, but the DBS does have some nifty sliding trays to hold items like his gun and a medical kit with a defibrillator.
2015 Aston Martin DB10
The most recent James Bond car is the Aston Martin DB10 from Spectre. Only 10 models of the DB10 were ever produced, and they all were made specifically for this 007 film. However, these very limited, high-performance spy cars would turn out to be the precursor to the all-new 2018 Aston Martin Vantage. As for the DB10 spy car in the film, it’s said to be fully bulletproof with “a few tricks up her sleeve”. Although, we don’t get to see too many of the car’s “tricks” in action, as they don’t seem to function very well during its chase scene. At least the ejector seat performed properly.
No Time to Die is Coming Soon
The next movie in the James Bond saga was due to release last year, but unforeseen circumstances pushed it back. Well, we’re finally going to be able to see 007 on the big screen once again this coming October. No Time to Die is set to finally release in theaters October 8th, 2021, and with it comes more James Bond cars. We’ll of course see the return of the classic Aston Martin DB5, but the movie will also feature Land Rover Defenders, a classic Aston Martin V8, an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, and one of the coolest Aston Martins ever built, the Valhalla. Needless to say, we can’t wait to see this movie and the cars that come with it!
