Top ten James Bond car gadgets
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28 May 2008 To celebrate, Vijay Pattni rounds up the top ten 007 car gadgets – including the remote controlled BMW 750i and the invisible Aston Martin Vanquish V12. The film: Goldfinger
Luckily James Bond is dispatched to stop the devious Goldfinger – with a little help from his Aston Martin DB5. The most iconic Bond car ever, the Aston Martin DB5 is powered by a 4-litre straight-six engine developing 280bhp. But Bond’s DB5 had a few optional extras most customers wouldn’t have, including a bullet-proof rear screen, front-firing machine guns, and an oil slick spray from the rear lights. View more images of the best ever James Bond cars
The film: Casino Royale
Bond, played by Daniel Craig, must defeat the treacherous Le Chiffre at the poker tables, leaving him in financial ruin and at the mercy of MI6. But he is double-crossed by the first love of his life – Vesper Lynd – and has to fight to stay alive and hunt down Le Chiffre’s overlords. Bond’s Aston Martin DBS might not be a rocket-propelled, machine-gun toting submarine, but it does save his life, as when he is poisoned by Le Chiffre, the DBS stores an emergency medical kit. View more images of the Aston Martin DBS
The film: The World is Not Enough
After falling for villain Elektra King’s charms, Bond hunts down the elusive oil empress and her conspirator, Renard – but not before Elektra’s goons total Bond’s BMW Z8. The BMW Z8 was launched in homage to the classic BMW 507 of the 1960s, and Bond’s Z8 was actually a prototype – BMW hadn’t finished building the roadster when the film was released. The Z8 came with laser-guided rockets, and was sawn in half by a rampaging helicopter with a chainsaw. View more images of Bernie Ecclestone’s car auction – including the BMW 507
The film: The Man With The Golden Gun
The villainous Scaramanga – played by Christopher Lee – sends a golden bullet to MI6 headquarters etched with ‘007’, forcing Bond to disobey his orders and hunt down Scaramanga and find the Solex Agitator. But in one of the film’s chase scenes – including the famous corkscrew stunt with an AMC Hornet (pictured) – Scaramanga and his sidekick Nick Nack escape in an AMC Matador as it transforms into a plane and heads off to China.
View more images of James Bond’s other cars
The film: The Spy Who Loved Me
Reclusive madman Stromberg plans to attack Moscow and New York City in order to start up a nuclear war which will end civilisation – allowing him to start up his own underwater civilisation. Bond picks up a tasty Lotus Esprit which drives headfirst into the sea and promptly turns into a submarine.
The film: Tomorrow Never Dies
As James Bond travels to Hamburg in his BMW 750iL, he is intercepted by media baron Elliot Carver’s henchmen. Luckily for Bond, Q equipped the V8-engined BMW 7 Series with a remote control, allowing James to jump clear and steer the car off a cliff from a safe distance. Read our review of the new BMW 7 Series
The film: Die Another Day
But hot on his trail his 007, who fakes a heart attack, swims to safety and finds himself in an Aston Martin Vanquish V12. As Q – played by Monty Python star John Cleese – points out: “Aston Martin call it the Vanquish, we call it the ‘Vanish’.” At the touch of a button, the stunning V12 Vanquish disappears completely from sight…
The film: GoldenEye
A rogue MI6 agent double crosses his old bosses and hatches a plot to relieve the Bank of England of all its financial records using the ‘GoldenEye’ satellite. Thankfully Bond arrives in the nick of time to prevent chaos – and is ably assisted by his BMW Z3. The BMW Z3 was a controversial choice of car for the new James Bond because the producers did not opt for the traditional Aston Martin. But in true Bond style the BMW Z3 featured a self-destruct system, parachute braking and stinger missiles located in the side vents.
The film: The Living Daylights
And helping him on his trail is a classic British bulldog with some real beef under the bonnet – the Aston Martin V8 Vantage. This gorgeous Aston Martin is a classic old-school bruiser, and Bond’s fully equipped V8 Vantage features forward missile launchers, retractable skis, tire spikes, a rocket propulsion system and a self destruct system.
The film: Moonraker Criminal mastermind Hugo Drax plans to eliminate all life on earth and wipe out civilisation, and in its place install his carefully selected batch of ‘perfect’ humans to take over. Bond sniffs a plot plucked from the belly of space and shoots off into orbit to stop the dastardly Drax. As Drax sends his henchmen after Bond in Venice, Bond commandeers a Venetian Gondola through the crowded Piazza – and lives out the dream of commuters everywhere when his Gondola turns into a hovercraft. View more images of James Bond’s budget cars Should James Bond drive an Aston Martin or Bentley? Have your say on the Auto Trader Blog |
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