Agent 007, operative of Britain's MI6, is perhaps one of the biggest car-guy characters in filmdom. Originally created by author Ian Fleming, James Bond has been the subject of no fewer than 22 feature films. From them we've learned that Bond is a simple man to please, needing only a martini, a Walther PPK pistol, a beautiful woman (or better, women — preferably ones not trying to kill him), and a fine automobile befitting his license-to-kill status.
With the art of the chase being a hinge on which most Bond flicks pivot, there are nearly as many starring cars as there are leading ladies. Narrowing down a list of Bond's best cars to nine — beyond, of course, the classic Aston Martin DB5 — invites no end of debate. So we've fixed our crosshairs on cars we think are the coolest, giving extra consideration to Bond's personal rides....
Least classic Bondmobile: The AMC Hornet from The Man with the Golden Gun
Fox News: “The sky is green.” ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN: “Is the sky green? Our team of experts investigates.” Local news: “Is the sky green? We hit the street to find out what YOU think!” Online media/blogosphere: “It is well known that Al Gore and Dick Cheney conspired in 1998 to turn the sky red.”
The "Submarine" Lotus Esprit was an S1, not an S2, as noted and pictured.
The S1 was 5-slot "Wolfrace" wheels and NO scoop/vent behind the rear quarter windows.
You also completely missed the "S3" Turbo Esprit used in another Bond film.
"Oops". tisk, tisk.
Maybe a Lotus scholar could tell me different, but I see the S2 bumper on the Bond Esprit (signals out at the corners rather than inboard). We'll take a second look. Thanks for the note.
As for the Turbo, we were limiting the list to ten. I have the info on the car, but it really didn't do much in the film other than blow up in the beginning (the white one) and carry some skis to Corsica (the brown one). The cars on this list played more of a role in general.
This isn't an all-inclusive list of cars to have shown up in a Bond movie or even to star in a car chase in a Bond movie. If so, then cars like the AMC, the AMC Matador plane car in the same movie, the Ford Mustang Mach 1 and more should also be included. We tried to focus on cars that were Bond's own ride and only deviated from that once with the Toyota. However, only two convertibles being built specifically for the movie and that the original script had it as Bond's car, we gave it a pass. The AMC, as you may recall, was stolen by Bond from an AMC showroom.
Sticking with our list approach, we focused on ten of the coolest based on criteria we highlighted in the intro. Obviously, even based on our criteria, it's quite debatable.
BTW, I've added a photo gallery with more stills of the cars in higher res, but no screencaps unless high-res versions were released with the film.
Thank MGM the Brosnan Bimmer Era is at an end. From the overly feminine XKR to the bloated Seven, there was little to enjoy from that period. Silly Bond storylines were charming in the Sixties; not so much in the '90s. Goldeneye aside, I hated every one of those flicks.
And the Z8 was a joke. A lame homage to the beautiful 507. Even Brosnan said he was relieved to have Bond back in an Aston.
Maybe a Lotus scholar could tell me different, but I see the S2 bumper on the Bond Esprit (signals out at the corners rather than inboard). We'll take a second look. Thanks for the note.
Somewhere at home I have a picture of me standing in front of one of the ones that they actually used to film that. I'll see if I can dig it up, as I think that should answer the question. I also have a picture of me and one of the "Goldfinger" DB5s.
My favorite, favorite Bond Car ever, though, is the 4.5 litre Blower Bentley. Thank you SO much for including it in the article. Everyone who does this sort of article invariably skips over that car, as it didn't have a very big role in any of the main Bond films. Fleming loved the thing though, and it was evident in the way that he described it, and Bond's relationship with it, in the books. Bond was definitely a "car guy," and Fleming's choice of a Blower Bentley for him denotes that - there were only ever 50-odd of the things made, and they were made for racing. W. O. Bentley himself really didn't like forced induction, and it was only after his company got in financial trouble and was bailed out by some billionaire playboys that they produced the supercharged models, specifically for said playboys to go around racing in. More specifically, they were produced to meet homologation requirements to be entered at LeMans.
Later on in the books, Bond demonstrates his car-guyness again by buying the wreck of an R-Type Continental MKII "that some rich idiot had written off against a telegraph pole." He gets the chassis straightened, has his garage drop in a MKIV 4.9 litre engine in place of the original 4.5, has them put in a custom black leather interior, custom 2-inch exhaust pipes to get the sound he wanted, and (as was more common at the time) has Mulliners do him up a custom body, which would have looked something like this:
And finally, he painted it battleship grey, and in place of the famous "Winged B" hood ornament, he put a big hex bolt. It was nicknamed "The Locomotive," and he referred to it as "the most selfish car in England."
See? Bond was a car guy.
Thanks for mentioning the 4.5 Blower in the article.
AutoArt model clearly is, and is listed as, an S1.
Screen cap from movie...Notice Wolfrace 5-hole wheels, not 4-spokes from the S2. Also notice lack of rear "scoops" (for those with exceptional vision).
White S1 for reference (extreme foreground).
You know what's worse than a "magazine" not doing their own research and getting it wrong? (What'd you do, look it up on wikipedia?! They're wrong on this, as well as so many other things...)
What about the Audi quattro sedan that was used in the beginning of "the living daylights"? It was sort of a bond car.
Quote, originally posted by Rukh »
Listen up, buddy, I've had both - I eat plain bagels with cream cheese all the time, and I know people who've brought me onion bagels to try. I've toasted them both. I've even had poppy seed bagels and bagels and lox with capers. I'll pit your onion bagel against my plain bagel with cream cheese any time anywhere, just meet me halfway.
AutoArt model clearly is, and is listed as, an S1.You know what's worse than a "magazine" not doing their own research and getting it wrong? (What'd you do, look it up on wikipedia?! They're wrong on this, as well as so many other things...)
...Not admitting when someone catches you at it.
George thanked you for the comment and said he'd take another look. What more do you want?
Current Project: MKII Jetta 8v --> MKII Jetta 16vT
Quote, originally posted by "mk2machine" »
ha ha somebody said that u guys dont need to prove to the rice community how fast ur cars are. Thats ok ive acquired 2 honda civics and a bmw 325 from street racing for pinks and its put another 46,000 in my pocket so i dont care what u guys say.
And what about the new Ford Mondeo James Bond also drove in Casino Royale in the Bahamas
The one he drove for a good 15 secs?
Current Project: MKII Jetta 8v --> MKII Jetta 16vT
Quote, originally posted by "mk2machine" »
ha ha somebody said that u guys dont need to prove to the rice community how fast ur cars are. Thats ok ive acquired 2 honda civics and a bmw 325 from street racing for pinks and its put another 46,000 in my pocket so i dont care what u guys say.
The cool thing about the demise of the DBS was that it very closely mimicked the way that he destroyed his Bentley in the book - they faked the kidnapping of Vesper, and when he raced off to chase them, he wrecked the car. I was glad that they did that.
You know what's worse than a "magazine" not doing their own research and getting it wrong? (What'd you do, look it up on wikipedia?! They're wrong on this, as well as so many other things...)
...Not admitting when someone catches you at it.
Clearly you've got something to prove given your condescending tone.
Like you said, different websites say different things. We did use an S2 photo as it was the best promo shot I could find, but I was confused on the bumpers (what I thought was an S1 thing was a US spec thing instead). I'd actually not included an S2 or S1 reference in the title and the car's year 1976 as published in the piece was well before the S2's 1978 intro anyway. That the movie came right around the time of the new model (1977 vs. 1978) also causing confusion. Unfortunately, I missed pulling the remaining S2 reference in my text and I was admittedly never doubled back to re-check -less focused on the S1 vs. S2 nuance than I was other parts of the stories.
You're right. I've reviewed the movie, still not returned to Blockbuster, and the Bond car had the wheels, and also the duck bill S1 spoiler and S1 taillights. Incidentally, if anyone has a straight on shot of those S1 wheels, I'd love to update our pic.
BTW, you might want to cross-check us and Wiki again. I think you'll find points in our Bond article that conflict with Wiki or aren't included on the encyclopedic site or in any other Bond lineup that I found during research. They list the Her Majesty's... Aston as a DB5 when it's a DBS, don't even list the elder Casino Royale, nor the Florida DB5 film car theft or the Lotus turned Bahaman lawn ornament. They do list the Bond Lotus correctly as an S1 FYI.
For those who've read the piece, please excuse the S1 vs. S2 mistake. I'm pulling the S2 reference now and correcting it.
So there you go Mike. You're right! How about shutting down that monitor and going out for some fresh air on this fine Valentine's day to celebrate your victory.
Yeah it was an awesome stunt. And didn't it set a record for the most flips in a movie or something like that?
Yes, it did. Here's the text from our article explaining...
Quote »
It is said that the production crew used GM's Millbrook Proving Grounds in the UK to film the car's rollover scene. In several tests (sans expensive Aston), a ramp was sufficient to induce the desired roll effect. Unfortunately, the Aston had a tendency to right itself. Even with ramp height raised to nearly two feet, the first take with a DBS saw the car simply go airborne, then level out and land on all four wheels. It took an air cannon mounted behind the driver's seat to send the Aston end-over-end from a 75-mph approach speed. In real life, the car would most definitely have spun, but the ensuing rollover captured on film was much more dramatic and its seven rotations were enough to net it a spot in the Guinness Book of World Records.
For advertising information Click Here
