Top Ten best James Bond cars
Author: Robin Brown
Published: 05 November 2008
Women, guns, cocktails, casinos, gambling and eyebrows. A heady brew that crops up on screen every few years as another part of the 45-year-old James Bond franchise. And right at the middle of those films has been 007's relationship with cars.Quantum of Solace sees Daniel Craig's Bond back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin DBS - one of the best sports cars in the world today, and a notionally British one at that. To celebrate, we're examining some of Bond's best and most ridiculous models over the years: The Aston Martins, Jaguars and Lotus on one hand, and the BMWs, Citroens and Renaults on the other.
Goldfinger
Aston Martin DB5The classic Bond Aston Martin DB5, and some would say the classic Bond. This Aston features no less than switch number plates, pop-up machine guns, oil slicks maker, smoke machines, bulletproof glass and an ejector seat.Even better on, Bond uses try slashers elsewhere in the film to harass a young woman into careering off the road and crashing at high speed, simply so he can chat her up. What a guy, eh?Here Bond enounters numerous henchpersons, a granny with a machine gun and and a fat bloke with lethal bowler hat.Inevitably it all ends in tears, with Bond driving straight into a brick wall. Despite the car's gadgets it seems unlikely that the Aston was equipped with ESP, ABS or any other manner of safety acronyms.• View the Goldfinger clipDiamonds are Forever
Ford Mustang Mach 1Sean Connery's reappearance after Lazenby's sole effort, with Bond noticeably larger and less hairy - on top at any rate.Here Bond battles some inept American police at the wheel of a Ford Mustang Mach 1 one streets of Vegas. Everything appears to be going well until 007 take the Stang down a dead end, only to pull off a novel escape that the dumb cops inevitably attempt themselves, with poor results. See if you can spot a very clunky error while the car is on two wheels though.The music is from Live and Let Die, if you're wondering why something seems vaguely amiss.• View the Diamonds are Forever clipThe Spy Who Loved Me
Lotus Esprit S1Here Bond attempts to escape a horribly beweaponed helicopter in a white Lotus Esprit S1, wipes out half a dozen henchpeople on the way, and ends up driving the submarine Espirit around underwater. Then blows up aforementioned whirlybird with a sea-to-air missile. The Esprit was famed for its handling, largely due to its remarkably lightweight chassis, evinced here in the way the Lotus eats up the treacherous roads with ease. • View the Spy Who Loved Me clipFor Your Eyes Only
Citroen 2CVWe're being out-horsepowered. No kidding, James, the Citroen 2CV only had a mere 14 of them - admittedly a few more than the 'Two Horses' nickname would suggest. Sir Roger Moore double-takes his way through a rough-and-ready car chase that's not a million miles away from an Inspector Clouseau celluloid rumble.Cue flying boxes of fruit, shouting peasants and Moore's eyebrow in overdrive. For Your Eyes Only isn't one of the better Bonds.• View the For Your Eyes Only clipA View to a Kill
Renault 11Moore's ageing Bond wreaks havoc in the middle of Paris, in another car chase where the emphasis is on laughs rather than thrills. Still, the stunt that launches the Renault 11 over the truck here is a cracker, as is Bond's front-wheel only driving - all courtesy of stuntman Rémy Julienne.The stunt concludes with a 30-foot leap onto a wedding cake, a feat the then 58-year-old Moore would have done well to escape without a double-hip replacement.The car doesn't fare much better, having its roof and back end torn off, but it's hard to feel much sympathy for the uninspired French saloon.If you're wondering why the music on this clip is from The Living Daylights it's a well-known way of getting around posting copyrighted material on Youtube.• View the View to a Kill clipThe Living Daylights
Aston Martin V8 Vantage Bond gains an '80's Aston Martin V8 Vantage, but loses his sense of humour in the process. Timothy Dalton took over the reins for a bold new era of Bond, but audiences weren't ready for a spot of realistic brutality after 15 years of suave Moore. Not until Daniel Craig came along anyway.This version of the Vantage had been around a decade or so by the time The Living Daylights came out but it was seriously fast. This appearance features a drop-top Volante and a coupe masquerading as the same car, having been equipped for the winter by Q branch. • View the Living Daylights clipGoldeneye
Aston Martin DB5 versus Ferrari 355 GTSTwo great-looking cars go head-to-head in the shape of the Aston DB5 - making another reappearance - and a Ferrari F355 GTS driven by Xenia Onatopp. Needless to say the action takes place on some windy mountain roads on the continent and the whole thing is smothered with innuendo and metaphor.Although we're duty-bound to favour the Aston, we can't help feeling that at 30 years' difference between the two models, the Dave Brown is somewhat outgunned.Bond blinks first in this race, but not before taking out a whole troupe of Tour de France cyclists. True to form Bond later beds then kills Onatopp, gaining a measure of revenge.• View the Goldeneye clipTomorrow Never Dies
BMW 7-seriesA remote-control BMW 7-Series, Pierce Brosnan and a multi-story car park in Brent Cross. This is, frankly, a boring car chase featuring a boring car. While the 7-Series is perfect for a semi-retired executive on his way to the golf club it's hard to think a less appropriate car for 007.Yes, there's some gadgets, weaponry and plenty of explosions, but the Ford Sierra briefly glimpsed among the mayhem would have been a more interesting choice. In actuality the 7-Series can be equipped with a rear-parking system, though rocket launchers cannot be chosen at present. • View the Tomorrow Never Dies clipDie Another Day
Aston Martin Vanquish versus Jaguar XKRThe Bond franchise loses it, with this famously daft car chase on ice involving a Jaguar XKR and an invisible Aston Martin Vanquish and concluding in an ice palace being slowly melted by an orbiting laser beam.Still, Ford must've been pleased. The Blue Oval Company owned both Jag and Aston at this point so would've got value for money.Bond has opted for a DBS in the last two films starring Daniel Craig, but a new Vanquish is due over the next couple of years - just in time for a new Bond installment. • View the Die Another Day clipCasino Royale
Aston Martin DBSBond makes an impressive return, and he had a brand new 6.0-litre V12 Aston DBS to play with too, which he precedes to write off in a record-breaking roll. Seven rolls were complleted when the DBS was cannoned into the air. Three DBSs were destroyed.A vast swathe of models then owned by Ford can be seen in the film, including Jaguars, Aston Martins, Land Rovers and Volvos. A Mondeo also famously features in Casino Royale, driven by Bond.• View the Casino Royale clip
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