Not all images were able to load for printing. Please close the print window and try again. The James Bond Edition – The Best, The Forgotten and The Future Cars Driven By Secret Agent 007
This means some Aston Martins of course, but indeed, there are many more cool (or not) cars featured.
Looking at a James Bond movie is, for men, like a kid going to the amusement park… Obviously, everything a man can dream of is there (I know, this will sound a bit simple-minded, if not almost misogynist…), and that includes the nice girls, the fine liquors, the elegant wardrobe, the great locations, the cool watches, the action and… an impressive selection of cars. Some iconic, some to forget, some clearly under-appreciated. So, in our latest episode of this fuel-infused column, The Petrolhead Corner, we take a look at the best, the forgotten and the future cars driven by the world’s most famous secret agent, James Bond a.k.a. 007.
Featured image: Sean Connery as James Bond in 1964 movie Goldfinger, the first appearance of the Aston Martin DB5, which will later become an iconic Bond-related item.
Below: Daniel Craig as James Bond in 2012 movie Skyfall, which sees the comeback of the Aston Martin DB5 – and its destruction… spoiler: in reality, it’s an old Porsche 928 that explodes. Note that the licence plate is the same as the one used in Goldfinger, BMT 216A.
The Full list of cars (and other vehicles) used by Bond
You probably know about the DB5, the submarine Lotus Esprit S1 or the BMW Z8… But think about it for a while, and you’ll see that, in fact, Bond has been driving a lot more cars in the movies. Some were simply memorable, such as the 1957 Chevrolet Bel Air seen in Dr. No, or the Toyota 2000GT convertible, featured in You Only Live Twice (a car specifically built for the movie)… and some, really, should be forgotten, such as this nonsense Ford Mondeo in Casino Royale, a perfect example of marketing-driven decision and product placement.
So if you want to have the full list of cars (and also other vehicles, some more surprising than others… I’ll let you discover that), check out this page here, at jamesbond.fandom.com.
The Top 10 James Bond cars through the decades
From the dozens of cars that James Bond has been driving in (almost) 25 movies, some were more noticeable than others… Like, really! Forget about the almost ridiculous 2002 Ford Thunderbird of Jinx in Die Another Day (these late-1990s and early-2000s movies went a bit too far with gadgets). On the other hand, even though it wasn’t driven by Bond, I have a thing for the F355 seen in Goldeneye (my favourite modern Ferrari, by far).
Wheel.ca has listed what they think are the 10 best cars found in James Bond movies, and if I don’t necessarily agree with all of their choices, some are just cooler than ice cream… Did I hear submarine-Esprit S1…? Or the 1935 Bentley Mark IV Drophead 3.5 Litre driven by Bond in From Russia With Love (1963)?
Five (cool) Under-Appreciated Cars In The James Bond Films
While everybody has the DB5 and other Aston Martins and BMWs in mind, there are more cool cars featured in Bond movies, some that might have been slightly forgotten as time goes by. Petrolicious had the good idea to dust off the time-honoured ‘Bond car’ list. And instead of listing these iconic, all-time favourite cars we all think of, they give a shot to “those poor wretches that have a significant (ish) role in the 007 canon, but which are too often forgotten“. And looking at their selection, I have to admit that it is a good reminder!
Check the list of these under-appreciated cars in James Bond Films here, at Petrolicious.com.
The Future of Bond, the 4 Aston Martins of “No Time To Die”
As EON Production has officially wrapped filming No Time To Die, the 25th movie in the James Bond series, about a week ago, the question of the cars that will be driven by Craig (as his last appearance as 007) were answered a few months ago by Aston Martin itself… And it won’t be one or even two AMs that will be featured, but no fewer than four of them, two modern ones and two vintage ones. With no surprises, the iconic DB5 will be part of the show but EON also pays tribute to the 1987 movie The Living Daylights, by featuring an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
As for the modern-day engines, Bond will be seen driving an Aston Martin DBS Superleggera (a car currently in production) as well as the Valhalla, the brand’s future hyper-car (positioned below the Valkyrie, though) and not yet produced.
More details about the AM cars soon (April 2020) to be seen in No Time To Die here, at autoblog.com.
Bonus: the full list of Bond x Omega Watches
There are cars in James Bond, but as you’re reading MONOCHROME, a magazine mostly dedicated to fine watches, you can also expect to see what’s on 007’s wrist… And in this case, that means OMEGA watches, as it is the official provider of chronometric coolness to the secret agent.
Listed here is a selection of all the watches that were featured in post-1995 movies – since Omega started its collaboration with EON Production. And also, check out the brand’s latest Bond-related limited edition here.
2 responses
The V8 Volante was always my favourite.
Obviously the Ford Mondeo was thought of a worthy car as it is trustworthy reliable and good looking and wouldn’t be out of place in a bond movie