7 classic cars made famous by Bond
3rd September, 2020
For nearly 60 years from ‘Dr. No’ to ‘No Time To Die’, cinema audiences around the world have been treated to 25 brilliantly breathtaking Bond movies. In that time, we’ve come to have certain expectations — exotic locations, vicious villains, beautiful women, preposterous plots, and crazy, gadget-laden car chases. We just hope Q has his specialist insurance up to date!
While many of these cars may be out of reach of the average classic car enthusiast there’s no harm in dreaming.
So, grab your popcorn, make yourself comfortable and sit back for our list of 7 classic cars made famous by Bond.
Aston Martin DB5
Dubbed ‘the most famous car in the world’ the Aston Martin DB5 is undoubtedly the best-known car in Bond history and the one that forged the only long-term relationship 007 has managed to maintain.
Coloured in distinctive silver birch and first appearing in 1964’s ‘Goldfinger’ the popularity of the model exceeded all expectations, even challenging Sean Connery for star billing.
The car was used again in ‘Thunderball’ (1965), ‘GoldenEye’ (1995), ‘Tomorrow Never Dies’ (1997), ‘Casino Royale’ (2006), ‘Skyfall’ (2012), ‘Spectre’ (2015) and ‘No Time To Die’ (2020). Thereby exceeding Roger Moore’s tally of seven Bond film appearances.
AMC Hornet
Arguably the most famed non-Aston vehicle driven by the fictional spy, the AMC may not have been Bond’s personal choice, but sometimes money talks.
For 1974’s ‘The Man With The Golden Gun’ the manufacturer paid an incredible $5m to have a heavily modified version of the car featured in the film.
However, any griping from purists was silenced by one of the best Bond movie stunts of all time.
After smashing the red hatchback through a showroom window, Bond (now played by Roger Moore) uses it to chase Scaramanga through the streets of Bangkok and perform a jaw-dropping 360-degree twisting corkscrew jump across a river.
The AMC Hornet is one of the favourite Bond cars for classic car collectors on a budget.
Lotus Esprit S1
There are few cars to have so dominated the memory of a film as the Lotus Esprit S1 in ‘The Spy Who Loved Me’ (1977).
With Barbara Bach riding shotgun and the bad guy’s helicopter in hot pursuit, Bond is forced to drive the Lotus off a pier and into the sea.
The car proceeds to dispatch the waiting armed frogmen and turn itself into a submarine before escaping.
The nonchalance with which Bond then drives up on to the beach past a group of gaping tourists is classic Bond.
The Lotus' appearance was so memorable that after the film premiere, the Esprit received orders for the next three years in advance.
Unfortunately, folding wheels, fins and a periscope did not come as standard.
Citroen 2CV
In the follow up movie ‘For Your Eyes Only’ (1981) Bond and his current damsel in distress Melina Havelock escape from evil villain Hector Gonzales in a classic two-cylinder French Citroën 2CV.
The distinctively squat, bright yellow vehicle takes quite a battering during the chase but still manages to survive to fight another day.
Citroën launched a special 2CV 007 edition to coincide with the product placement in the film.
This was a Jaune Hélios 2CV 6 Spécial, painted in yellow with 007 and fake bullet hole stickers to boot.
Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II
Roger Moore’s run as Bond featured a wealth of cheesy one-liners but also some of the most stylish Bond cars ever seen. And 1985’s ‘A View to a Kill’ was no exception.
One of Bond’s most memorable aliases James St John Smythe is perfectly suited to the 1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II in which he is chauffeured around the stunning Chateau de Chantilly in France.
While the impressive Rolls is used to great advantage in several scenes it unfortunately didn’t feature in the obligatory car chase.
Why not you may ask? Well the Rolls was the pride and joy of Bond film producer Albert R (Cubby) Broccoli.
Even with classic car insurance it might have been an explosion too far!
BMW Z3
As well as featuring the return of the DB5, ‘GoldenEye’ also began a three-movie deal between BMW and the Bond franchise.
Despite a fanfare of marketing publicity and a range of fancy weapons Bond purists feel the appearance was a bit of a let-down. The Z3 made only a brief appearance before being traded in for a plane.
As a result, it remains one of the few cars returned to Q without a scratch! Despite this the entire first year’s production run of over 15,000 Roadsters were sold out before the first one arrived at BMW dealers.
One hundred lucky buyers managed to secure an exclusive James Bond edition Z3 with the same Atlantic Blue and Taupe leather livery as 007’s.
Aston Martin DB10
Introduced as the ‘first cast member’ of the 24th Bond film ‘Spectre’ the DB10 was unveiled by director Sam Mendes and producer Barbara Broccoli as part of the official press launch of the film.
Stolen from fellow agent 009, Bond took the bespoke grand tourer on a perfectly choreographed one-on-one car chase against a Spectre villain’s Jaguar CX-75 through the streets of Rome, before ending up in the Tiber.
However, if you’re thinking of picking one up then think again.
Incredibly, the car was created specifically for the film and only 10 units of this 4.7 litre, V8-powered beauty were built in-house by the company’s design and engineering team.
Choosing classic car insurance
Whether you’re already living the dream and have grabbed yourself one of these beauties or looking to purchase one of Bond’s lesser known classics, you’ll need insurance.
For over 35 years the team at Lancaster has specialised in arranging both comprehensive and bespoke insurance cover for the cherished vehicles of countless classic car enthusiasts.
Working with carefully selected underwriters we use our wealth of expertise and knowledge of the car industry to quote for virtually every classic car available, even hard-to-insure models.
Call our team on 01480 484826 today to get a quote from www.lancasterinsurance.co.uk/insurance/classic-car-insurance/.
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