Thursday, 2 February 2012

Bond in Motion - Vehicles used in the 007 Franchise

Aston Martin DB10 from Spectre
I like a good Bond flick...When it comes to cars, no film franchise has featured such a diverse range of vehicles over what is now a six decade timeframe. Below is a comprehensive selection with pictures taken at various exhibitions both in the UK and abroad. If you love Bond films and adore cars, then take a butchers at the weird, wonderful, sexy and occasionally scarred selection below. These are the most notable cars that have featured over the last 50+ years in the world of 007...


Aston Martin DB5 - This has to be the most notable car of the franchise, helped by the fact that it has appeared in a number of Bond films and is his favourite. The car first appeared in Goldfinger with Sean Connery in 1964...


...Naturally Q branch made a number of alterations including adding pop out gun barrels behind the front indicator lamps, a rear mounted bullet shield, an ejector seat, a rotating number plate and a front bumper featuring a pop out ram

Mercury Cougar - This rather pretty American affair featured in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. It wasn't owned by George Lazenby's Bond but by his love interest and short term wife Contessa Teresa de Vicenzo. The most notable scene was during a car chase where it ended up taking part in a stock-car race
BMW Z8 - This was Pierce Brosnan's set of wheels in The World is Not Enough. The car featured the usual armoury including a well concealed gun that popped out of the side grille. A remote control feature allowed 007 to drive the car by remote control. Things didn't end well though - the Z8 ended up being cut in half by huge circular saws attached to a helicopter. Naturally, more than one car was used in the film - the dissected model still exists...in two 
Citroen 2CV - This was the rather unlikely getaway car driven my Roger Moore in For Your Eyes Only. This particular example was used to shoot the interior shots whilst being towed
Due to the high speed chase and the more powerful persuing Peugeot 504s, the Citroen used the larger 4-cylinder engine from the Citroen GS. Despite the 'deckchair on wheels' silhouette, the Citroen survived the leaps, rolls and general hammering that occurred on the island of Corfu

Aston Martin DBS - The DBS is one pretty car although it didn't feature any 'optional extras' apart from a handy glovebox that featured a Walther P99 and a life saving med kit...
...It did end up in the Guinness Book of Records whilst being filmed for Casino Royale. The 7 barrel role stunt sequence was caused by Bond swerving to avoid the girl bound and gagged in the middle of the road. The stunt was created by firing the car from a cannon - three cars were destroyed in all. No car has completed more rolls whilst being assisted by cannon fire
Rolls-Royce Phantom III - This was Auric Goldfinger's set of wheels in the 1964 film of the same name. Always driven by Oddjob, the car was used as a way of smuggling gold by melting it down to form the basis of the car
Jaguar XKR - Villain Zao drove this in Die Another Day in persuit of Bond in his Aston Martin Vanquish. It features front grille machine guns, door panel missiles, a rear mounted gattling gun and boot mounted mortars
Auto rickshaw (Tuk-Tuk taxi) - Octopussy featured this Honda engined auto rickshaw when a chase broke out in the streets of Udaipur in India. Hard to believe it could perform wheelies!
Ford Mondeo - This was Daniel Craig's company car in Casino Royale. Filming took place a year before production of the MkIII Mondeo began so the car was hand built at Ford's plant in Cologne, Germany. The Mondeo was transported in top secret as the motoring press were keen to catch a glimpse

Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II - This car was owned by James Bond producer Cubby Broccoli and starred in the 1985 film A View to a Kill. In the story, the car is pushed into a lake by May Day (Grace Jones) and Max Zorin (Christopher Walken) - the car was thankfully swapped for an identical model
Ford Mustang Mach 1 - This car is still wearing the bruises after its 2 wheeled antics in Diamonds are Forever. Ford supplied all of the vehicles for the film and many were destroyed - the proviso was that Bond would drive the Mustang. Las Vegas certainly saw some action during this film's chase sequence
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish - This starred in Die Another Day and its party piece was its ability to become invisible at the touch of a button. Other weapons included front firing rockets, bonnet-mounted target-seeking missiles, spiked tyres and a passenger ejector seat
Rolls-Royce Silver Shadow - This car starred in The World is not Enough and was the proud possession of Valentin Zukovsky (Robbie Coltrane) before it ended up in the Caspian Sea
Aston Martin V8 Volante - This featured in a great chase sequence in The Living Daylights starring Timothy Dalton. Extra refinements included extending side outriggers (skis), spike producing tyres, missiles, lasers, a head-up display and rocket propulsion. A self-destruct system also featured. Two versions of the V8 were used in the film; a V8 Vantage (coupe) and a Volante (convertible)
Ford Thunderbird - The Thunderbird had a small role in Die Another Day as the property of Agent Jinx (Halle Berry)

Renault 11 TXE - Roger Moore's Bond commandeered this Parisian taxi in 1985's A View to a Kill as he was in hot persuit of May Day after her leap off the Eiffel Tower. Three cars were used in the sequence and in reality were driven by French stuntman Remy Julienne...
 
...The roof was chopped off by a barrier and later the back end was ripped off by a passing car. Bond was able to continue driving the car due to the front wheel drive. Renault used the publicity to help shift the newer 11 Turbo in Europe whilst American viewers could purchase the AMC Encore; a re-badged version that was sold Stateside after Renault's buy-out of the ailing US brand
Ford Ka - Bond girl Camille picks up 007 in this supposedly hydrogen powered model in Quantum of Solace
Lotus Esprit - This was used in Sardinia in the film The Spy who Loved Me. Naturally its biggest feature was to turn into a submarine. It also featured anti-aircraft missiles...
...It has to be one of the most well known models in the Bond franchise
Aston Martin DBS - Not to be confused with the earlier model, this one featured in Quantum of Solace during the opening chase sequence with a number of Alfa Romeo 159s in hot pursuit...
...Like its predecessor, this one didn't fare much better once filming was wrapped up
AMC Hornet - AMC had a big product placement deal on its hands in Live and Let Die. The Hornet was stolen by 007 from an AMC dealership to give chase after Scaramanga (Christopher Lee) in his modified AMC Matador. The Hornet completed a twisting corkscrew jump which was filmed in one shot in slow motion
BMW 750iL - This was used by Pierce Brosnan's 007 to escape henchmen in a German multi-storey car park in Tomorrow Never Dies. A great chase followed. The car features an array of extras: missile launchers, self inflating tyres, a Sony Ericsson remote control feature and a body that inflicted Bond's enemies with multiple electric shocks
Land Rover Defender - Used in Skyfall, this British stalwart is still sporting the scars from the Turkish chase sequence