With the James Bond series on a bit of a long break, we thought it would be an appropriate time to take a look at the past films and find the best cars used by the English spy.
It won’t be easy, as there were plenty of top-notch automobiles throughout the years. The current Aston Martin DBS is a stunning machine and the one we would own if it were our choice, but it doesn’t have the history and gadgets to be ranked in this article.
From Sean Connery to Roger Moore to Pierce Brosnan, every Bond actor has had a chance to drive these fabulous machines. Some longer than others.
We don’t have any James Bond experts, but that’s all right. Sometimes experts over-think things. We are just going to look at every movie as a die hard fan and pick our favorite 007 cars of all time.
Hit the jump for the list.
No. 1: 1964 Aston Martin DB5
This was pretty simple really, as the DB5 is the perfect Bond machine. The DB5 was a space age car with amazing gadgets and it would become the hallmark Bond machine. The greatness of the car was never overshadowed by the acting excellence of Sean Connery. In fact, the car might have overshadowed Connery.
One of the many reasons why we love the DB5 were all the toys. There was an ejection seat, oil slick, machine guns, a bulletproof rear barrier, tire slashing hubcaps, and a revolving license plate. The car even had a GPS navigation system and, in 1965, that was pretty wild.
No. 2: 1977 Lotus Esprit
Another amazing piece of design was the Lotus Esprit->ke2303, created for the film, The Spy Who Loved Me. This car had a very unique feature that was designed by Q’s laboratory. Not only did it look fast standing still, but it could also be used underwater.
The Lotus was a capable submarine, able to drop underwater mines and fires lethal anti-aircraft missiles. The only downside to the car was the film itself, as it wasn’t that great of a Bond film.
No. 3: 1997 BMW 750iL
Despite the poor rating for the film, the large BMW->ke178 was something special. After a pretty useless BMW Z3->ke340 in Goldeneye, Bond got a new toy for his next mission. The 750iL->ke323 was the centerpiece of Tomorrow Never Dies when it was chased by the baddies through a multilevel parking garage.
What made this car so special was the fact that Bond wasn’t behind the wheel. The spy was in the backseat, controlling the car by the remote control on his phone. The mobile phone could also launch rockets, magnetic flash grenades, tear gas, metal spikes, and a chain cutter. How do we get our hands on a phone like that?
No. 4: 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish
Although the film was terrible, the car was downright amazing. At this point in the Bond series, the writers were running out of ideas and it showed a bit. This car had the usual array of stuff, including machine guns, retractable shotguns, spiked tires, missiles, and even an ejector seat.
Yet, it wasn’t those gadgets that made the car special. The Vanquish->ke1316 had the ability to turn invisible, which is downright awesome. A little unbelievable perhaps, but that doesn’t really matter to us. We don't watch the Bond series because it's believable.
No. 5: 1985 Aston Martin Volante
This car helped Timothy Dalton look pretty good in his first role as James Bond. The Volante had all the options including laser beam devices concealed in the hubcaps, bulletproof windows, a dashboard weapon control system, and a rocket motor. What could be better than that? How about a self-destruct button? Yeah, the car had one of those too.
All in all, a pretty impressive list. We can only wonder what will come when the Bond series returns. As of now, the next film, Bond 23, has been canceled due to financial issues, so it might be awhile till we see anything from the Bond camp. It will most likely be an Aston Martin, but one never knows.