The James Bond movie franchise is an espionage-themed one; it is a very well-done spy fantasy series. It brings to life every super spy novel lover’s dream and imagination about the very covert life of secret agents.
While the movie’s general theme is espionage and intelligence retrieval, there is still a heavy infusion of action and adventure. Fans of the franchise like me and you reading this will be hard-pressed to think of a bond movie without a car chase sequence or a showing of a luxury car. And what is an action movie without fast cars and explosions? that would be so boring.
Such has become the culture in bond movies that showcases Bond in a car, doing a few action moves or evading capture. The vehicles can be of any brand, it makes no difference to our super-spy, but the important thing is they all need to meet a particular standard.
While not all will, most of the cars used in the movies are heavily fitted with gadgets and helpful features that aid bond’s campaign to go without hitches. Whether it is cars that turn to submersibles or the ones that can withstand nonstop gunfire, whatever your preference, James Bond has driven them all, as you will find in the list below.
All James Bond Cars:
1. Sunbeam Alpine
Sunbeam Alpine is the first bond car, appearing in the first bond movie, Dr. No, in 1962. The version used in the film is Series II, and it is 100% English-made. The moviemakers, however, did not buy the car but borrowed it from a local to skip importation costs.
2. Bentley Mark IV
The second movie, “From Russia With Love,” featured a different car from the last. This time, Bond drives a Bentley Mark IV. The model used in the movies is the Drophead 3.5 Litre, but the one in the novels is a 4.5 liter, making it a rather strange choice.
3. Aston Martin DB5
The Aston Martin DB5 embodies the character, the ideal bond vehicle. It is the most recognizable car in the franchise and, frankly, cinema history. The Aston Martin DB5 features in the 1964 movie Goldfinger.
4. Toyota 2000 GT
The 1967 bond movie, You Only Live Twice, was set primarily in Japan, and so it made sense for the car of choice to be from the host nation. The Toyota 2000 GT became the official Japan first supercar.
Toyota only made 351 models, making owning or driving the car rare. The original vehicle was too restrictive for Connery, so Toyota made special adjustments which meant that it was the only version of the car in history. A rare part of an already rare collection.
5. Aston Martin DBS
The Aston Martin brand is a part of a long-running history with the franchise. There is only one brand of car he loves for Bond, and it’s an Aston Martin. The DBS is the car of choice in “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.”
6. Mercury Cougar
This bond car is one he did not drive but was instrumental to his continued survival, as is the purpose of his vehicles. In the movie “On Her Majesty’s Secret Service” (1969), Bond’s wife drives them to safety in a red Mercury Cougar.
7. Ford Mustang
The Ford Mustang is a proud American muscle car, making it peculiar to see it in “Diamonds Are Forever.” It turns out the company struck a deal with the filmmakers, that if Bond agreed to drive a Ford Mustang, they would supply every car the film would need, even the ones that would get damaged in a crash or explosion.
8. AMC Hornet
For the 1974 movie, “The Man with the Golden Gun” (1974), Bond’s car choice is an AMC Hornet. The Hornet X Hatchback was not his first choice; he could not find his keys, so he stole the car from a nearby car dealership to chase down the bad guy.
9. Lotus Esprit
This car is a supercar. The Lotus Espirit S1 can transform into a submersible, allowing Bond to escape certain death; it can also fire anti-aircraft missiles even when it gets fully immersed in water. The car makes its appearance in “The Spy Who Loved Me” (1977).
10. Lotus Esprit Turbo
Since appearing in the movie “The Spy Who Loved Me,” the Lotus Esprit got a much-needed upgrade. When it featured in the 1981 movie “For Your Eyes Only,” it was a new and improved Lotus Esprit Turbo.
11. Citroën 2CV
The Lotus Esprit gets destroyed in a scene in “For Your Eyes Only” (1981), and Bond has to find an alternative to escape. Here is where he had to opt for Melina Havelock’s car, Citroen 2CV. It is not a standard bond car, but he has no choice to drive away for his dear life.
12. Bajaj RE
Yet another member of the “not quite bond’s standard car” club is the Bajaj RE Tuk Tuk Taxi in “Octopussy” (1983). While it may look like an ordinary auto-rickshaw, the Bajaj RE is equipped with spy-grade equipment and a powerful engine that helped them escape capture.
13. Renault Taxi
The Renault Taxi is not a fancy name for a new model from the French car manufacturers; it was just a simple taxi. Bond needed to keep chase of an escaping henchwoman, May Day, and had to commandeer a taxi by the side of the road.
14. Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II
Rolls Royce has quite a history with the Bond franchise; the Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II was the personal vehicle of Cubby Broccoli, a bond movie producer in 1962. It took twenty years to make its way to the silver screen in the 1985 movie “A View To A Kill.”
It, however, does not last too long in the movie as henchwoman May Day forced it off the road into a lake. Fans can remember Bond using the air from the tyre as the iconic role this car played to save Bond’s life.
15. Aston Martin V8
With a new actor coming in to give their take on Bond in “The Living Daylights” (1985), it was only fitting to give him a new car. The Aston Martin brand is technically not new to the franchise, but it had not featured in almost two decades.
The Aston Martin V8 is a supercar that comes fitted with a whole array of top spy gadgets made to resemble the fittings of the DB5 from Goldfinger. What’s more? There is not much of an upgrade between the DB5 and the DBS from On Her Majesty’s Secret Service”‘ (1969).
16. BMW Z3
1995 saw the inclusion of the BMW brand in a bond movie, which of course, met with glowing acceptance amongst fans. In “GoldenEye,” Q introduces Bond and the viewers to the BMW Z3 fitting with a parachute braking system, ejector seat, ‘all-point’ laser, and his fave, stinger missiles located behind the headlight compartment.
Fans, however, did not get to see these fantastic add-ons get utilized, and the car itself did not feature so much in the movie in general. So really, it was just a bit of well-done product placement for the german auto manufacturers, BMW, who saw a rise in sales after the movie.
17. BMW 750iL
Following the success BMW enjoyed with the feature in “GoldenEye,” they decided to join in for another run. The 1997 movie “Tomorrow Never Dies” sees the BMW 750i grace the silver screen with Pierce Brosnan still behind the wheels. A match made in heaven.
This time, the car company does not hold back and showcases the car features in the movie. It can even be remotely driven. Bond electrocutes henchmen, fires rooftop missiles. They showed a dedication to showing fans just what the car could do, and boy, did they smash it.
18. BMW Z8
BMW seemed to have found the right rhythm and the perfect actor to bring it to life with the continued inclusion of their products in the Bond franchise. Owing to the success of the two movie features, the german auto manufacturers decided to continue the trend.
In 1999, we saw Pierce Brosnan again play the iconic super spy, James Bond; this time, he does it in a fancy BMW Z8. It features titanium armor, a very complex HUD, and, just for laughs, six cup holders.
The car does not also last until the end of the movie, but before it meets a rather violent end, it fires missiles from the roof onto a helicopter.
19. Ford Fairlane
It would seem other car manufacturing brands noticed the success BMW had enjoyed and decided to have a go at it too. The 2002 installment of the Bond franchise saw the inclusion or introduction of the Ford Fairlane.
The 1957 car model was not looking to boost its sales but the available Ford Brand. However, the car does not possess the traditional arsenal bond used to utilize and, as such, did not get that much screentime. It makes sense if you consider that it was a car borrowed from Bond.
20. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
For the final appearance for Pierce Brosnan as James Bond, we get reintroduced to the iconic Aston Martin brand to the silver screens. This version of the brand is arguably one of the most upgraded series in history.
Agent Q introduces the car with a really -on the nose- line, “Aston calls it the Vanquish, we call it The Vanish.” But we will allow it since the car did have the ability to vanish or, more accurately, become invisible.
The Aston Martin V12 “Vanquish” comes complete with invisibility cloak functions which fans have tagged the most outrageous and over the top bond gadget of all time. It also has ejector seats, target-seeking shotguns, and torpedos, because why not?
21. Aston Martin DBS V12
The bond movie producers decided it was time to reboot the series, and in doing so, reinvent the bond persona. They drifted from the traditional suave and finesse and opted for a more rugged feel: higher stakes and real-time consequences.
Daniel Craig was perfect for this, and although fans were skeptical at first, they soon saw the light as soon as he shined on the screen in 2006’s “Casino Royale.” And of course, for a new band, there had to be a new car, well, at least a more unique model.
We see the Aston Martin brand take center stage once more with the Aston Martin DBS V12. With this new character representation, we also see a different approach to the car’s functions, giving it a more realistic and minimalist array of weaponry. This car had a hidden compartment that contained a deregulator and a silenced Walther PPK.
The Aston Martin DBS V12 also features, but this time it’s a slightly darker shade from the first movie. It features an intense chase scene that leads to the driver’s door getting ripped off!
22. Aston Martin DB10
With a new installment to the bond franchise came the need for an even more recent car model inclusion. They were introducing the Aston Martin DB10. This car was not only iconic, but it was also specially crafted. Aston Martin made ten; yes, the DB10 was intentional, of course. The ten models got made for the movie; three were heroic scenes, and the remaining seven were stunt work.
And if I forgot to mention, the DB10 was explicitly made for this particular movie, meaning it would be like owning a piece of history if you were somehow able to even buy one.
23. 2020 Range Rover Sport SVR
For the latest installment to the Bond franchise, viewers get introduced to a different side of the very rigid and inflexible iteration of Bond played by Daniel Craig. Bond shows he can be emotional, sensitive, and even vulnerable at some point.
In “No Time to Die” (2021), Bond uses a Range Rover Sport SVR in an epic chase sequence that trails from the road to the countryside and even into the jungle. It offers a zero-speed advantage and does not come equipped with any gadgets. The car is not even his; it belongs to his lover, Madeleine Swan, who he escapes.
Conclusion
Cars are an essential part of the Bond franchise, arguably as important as James Bond’s back clothes. They have gotten him out of considerably sticky situations and offer a reliable array of gadgets and maneuvers. It does not matter the brand, and Bond finds a way to put it to good use against the bad guys.
Countless cars have either been given to Bond or taken by him; these vehicles have been a part of the movie series, just as Bond himself. And we can even see that some continue to show up in various movies, offering a form of continuity.
