I have grown up watching my dad having a whale of a time watching 007 chasing down the villains. The James Bond series is swept by pure action and thrill with seamy haughty villains, sipping on wine and flaunting iconic watches. What kept me hooked to the screens was the vroom sound of high-end automobiles driven in the movies. From a small errand to epic shootouts with the villains Aston Martin DB5 has made its comeback in almost 8 parts of the 007 series. The car collection of James Bond is worth looking at, as these cars were always ahead of their time.
Sunbeam Alpine Series 2 (Dr No-1962)
Let’s begin our drive into the thrilling journey with the very first Bond car which is a British gen launched in 1953. In the film, it was used by James to Skid under the crane while the Villains chased him. Notably Alpine churned out 77 bhp at 4200 rpm. Series two came equipped with a 1,592 cc engine and it was claimed that it could run from 0 to 60 miles per hour in 13.6 seconds.
Aston Martin DB5- (Goldfinger, 1964), (Thunderball, 1965), (Tomorrow Never Dies, 1997), (Casino Royale, 2007), (Skyfall,2021), No Time To Die(2020)
Aston Martin has been a loyal ride to our cool 007 age throughout the movies, from the all-time famous Goldfinger released in 1964 to the recent No Time to Die, 2020, Aston Martin has been the preferred choice of the agent. Simply put DB5 can be called the best James Bond car ever. It was introduced in the movie by Q, Bond’s spy gadget staunch. What makes it stand out is that it appeared in 8 Bond films and helped the agent to bash the villains with gadgets attached to the car such as a Water cannon and jetpack (how cool!)
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (Die Another Day, 2002)
The V12 featured in Die Another Day comes with its own special features just for Bond. The cockpit in itself is a spy lab and if you haven’t seen a car shoot rocket, watch the action scene in this movie. It is powered by a V12 engine, it can attain a top speed of 306 km/h.
Aston Martin DB10 (Spectre, 2015)
Owing to Aston Martin’s 50-year legacy of being featured in the Bond series the DB10 was specially curated for Bond. It was an emblem of elegance and English torque. Under the classic design of DB10 was a 4.7-litre V8 petrol engine that could achieve a top speed of 190 mph. Out of the 10 models, one was auctioned for £2.4 million in 2016.
Rolls Royce Silver Cloud 2 (A View to Kill, 1985)
This ride, reserved for royals in this world, became a special ride for Bond in the 1985 film A View to Kill. It was a luxury vehicle from James’ fleet of cars that belonged to the personal collection of Cubby Broccoli, one of the producers of the Bond series. To taste the thrill you should watch this cinematic masterpiece chase scene where Bond drowns in a lake but survives by using the tire air to breathe underwater.
Lotus Espirit Turbo (For Your Eyes Only, 1981)
Three different Lotus models made their appearance in Bond’s film. The Espirit made its first appearance in a white color which was then upgraded to burgundy, its metallic paint finish made quite a buzz at that time. In The Spy Who Loved Me which was released in 1977, Espirit converts into a submarine, while the other has a pair of ski blades attached to the rear.
Mercury Cougar XR-7 (On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, 1969)
The sports car is not owned by James but by his love interest Tracy Di Vicenzo. The Cougar XR-7 helps Bond escape the assassins. Tracy is in charge of the wheels making some amazing snowy drifts on the ice track.
Citroen 2CV- For Your Eyes Only (1981)
It was a soft option for 007, as the car provided by Q exploded, and this French car saved Bond. The 2CV is powered by an air-cooled 2-cylinder engine producing just 29 hp.
BMW Z8 (The World Is Not Enough, 1999)
This car was successful in stealing some eyeballs at that time. Do you know why? As it could drive itself, yes! Sure modern-day Teslas and BMWs are automatically driven but it was thrilling watching this concept in the 90s. But that’s not all, being a bond’s car it has an unthinkable feature, Z8 could launch missiles.
2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera (No Time To Die, 2021)
Hands down Aston Martin DBS Superleggera is the fastest and most advanced among Bond’s car collections. Though it gets just 70 seconds of screentime in ‘No Time To Die’, that doesn’t stop us from looking into it, it is propelled by a 5.2-litre twin-turbocharged V12 engine producing 715 hp. The only purpose of the movie was to pick up by his M16 colleague to get dropped at a NATO base.
