There are certain advantages to being James Bond. While the highly skilled MI6 super spy gets the license to kill, his 007 status also gives him a bunch of other privileges, including driving and crashing some of the coolest cars in the world. Over the years, Bond has driven myriad vehicles and contrary to what many think, not all of them were Aston Martins. The newest movie, Spectre, sees Bond in an Aston Martin DB10, but while this one may be new, is it really the best Bond has ever driven? Here are our picks for the top Bond cars till date.
Sunbeam Alpine
Bond’s first car was a Sunbeam Alpine Series II, which he drove into a trap in the movie Dr No. Why did we pick this? Because while each Bond movie has a newly made car by Aston Martin today, this original Sunbeam is rumoured to have been borrowed from a local resident for the movie.
Aston Martin DB5
Old school Bond fans would remember this as the car from Goldfinger, while newer Bond fans may associate it with Skyfall or Casino Royale. The Aston Martin DB5 is the most iconic Bond car ever and perhaps the most iconic in cinema history. It made an appearance in Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale and Skyfall.
Ford Mustang Mach 1
How could Bond not drive a Mustang, right? While this one wasn’t issued by the MI6 officially, it was part of one of the best car chase sequences of its time. Don’t know which one? Watch Diamonds Are Forever!
Lotus Esprit S1
Never discount a car that can turn into a submarine. This Lotus Esprit transformed into a submarine to shake off its attackers, then shot a sea-to-air missile to take down a helicopter and then, after dealing with real submarines underwater, transformed into a land vehicle once again to drive Bond to safety. It’s all there, in the Spy Who Loved Me. The car won Lotus a second stint in a Bond movie – the Esprit Turbo was used in For Your Eyes Only.
Bajaj Re
Did you know Bond drove an auto-rickshaw? Yes, he did. It wasn’t exactly driven by Bond. His ally, Vijay, drives it in the mean streets of India and, by the way, it’s a ‘company car’, which means it has a super awesome engine that pushes it onto its rear wheels to accelerate and finally jumps off a ramp to escape the pursuers.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante
Aston Martin’s 18-year absence from a Bond movie ended with this car. It also marked the entry of Timothy Dalton as James Bond. It was seen in The Living Daylights and could shoot missiles and lasers, had a rocket propulsion system, missile guidance system, tyre spikes and more.
BMW Z3
It seems Bond doesn’t like BMWs. This fully stocked BMW Z3 was modified by MI6’s Q branch to turn it into a quintessential Bond car. Even so, it made an appearance in only one scene in Goldeneye, before being given, by Bond, to CIA Agent Jack Wade. He did warn Wade not to touch the buttons though.
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
“Aston calls it the Vanquish, we call it the Vanish.”
That’s how Q introduced this car to Bond in Die Another Day. The car was fitted with an invisibility cloak, along with guns in the front, torpedoes, ejector seats and more. It featured in a nice long chase sequence in an ice castle.
Aston Martin DBS V12
The Aston Martin DBS V12 was the car issued to Daniel Craig in Casino Royale. Marking the return of the Bond franchise, the car didn’t have a lot of gadgets and was part of a short chase sequence in which it was totalled.
Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II
You don’t drive a Rolls Royce, you are driven in it. That is exactly what Bond got in A View To A Kill. Driven by an MI6 agent posing as Bond’s chauffeur, this car was simply elegant and royal.
(Som Dasgupta is a freelance journalist who thrives on everything tech. After all the time he’s spent around technology, he’d like to think he’s turned into a robot.)
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