007's finest cars
Bond. James Bond. Most of us would be familiar with the name of the most prolific British spy in the world. Since the 1960s, we have been blessed with the appearance of Bond on the silver screen, gallivanting around exotic locations with his fancy Brioni suits and saving the world with the help of his gadgets. And in most cases, the best gadgets of all are the cars in these films. They really do deserve some credit of their own. So we’ve compiled a list of some of our favourite cars from the world of James Bond.
Aston Martin DB5
Of course, who can forget the iconic Aston Martin DB5, made famous by its appearance in 1946’s Goldfinger, starring Sir Sean Connery. This was the genesis of the relationship between the Bond universe and Aston Martin. A relationship that is still going strong to this day.
Aston Martin DB10
“Magnificent isn’t she? Zero to sixty in 3.2 seconds. A few little tricks up her sleeve.” The Aston Martin DB10 made its debut in the 2015 film Spectre, and unlike many other cars in the Bond franchise, it was never a production model. Beneath the sculpted bodywork lies the skeleton of the former Vantage, powered by the same 4.7-litre V8 you’d find in the Vantage V8 S.
Such was the extent of the relationship between 007 and Aston Martin that the carmaker actually made this bespoke car just for the silver screen. Of course, the designs cues of the DB10 eventually trickled down to the DB11 and more importantly, the new Aston Martin Vantage. God, it's a good looking thing.
Aston Martin DBS
Now for my personal favourite, the Aston Martin DBS featured in Daniel Craig’s first two bond films. In Casino Royale, the stunt team actually used an air cannon to flip the car in the scene where Bond was pursuing Vesper Lynd. The car flipped 7 times and was actually set a new world record at the time.
But the scene that solidified my love for this car was the opening sequence in Quantum of Solace. Bond, at the helm of a dark grey DBS dodging bullets from Quantum’s henchmen as he sped around Lake Garda before finally arriving at MI6’s hideout in Siena, Italy. After the film was completed, the hero car you see pictured above became part of the ‘Bond in Motion’ exhibition in the London Film Museum.
Toyota 2000GT Roadster
The venerable Toyota 2000GT. An icon of Japanese motoring heritage and one of the most beautiful Japanese ever made (to me at least). Matter of fact, it is Daniel Craig’s personal favourite Bond car. Despite what you’d see in the picture above, the 2000GT was never made as a roadster. Two cars used for the 1967 film You Only Live Twice had their roofs cut off to accommodate Sean Connery’s 1.88m frame, making them the only two open-top variants of the 2000GT in the world.