The car: Aston Martin DB5
The gadgets: Oil slick spray, machine guns, bullet-proof screen…
International thief Goldfinger plans a dastardly raid to melt the gold supplies held at Fort Knox. 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.
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The car: Aston Martin DBS
The gadgets: Emergency medical kit
Bond returns in spectacular style in 2006’s adaption of Ian Fleming’s very first James Bond adventure, 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.
The film: The World is Not Enough
The car: BMW Z8
The gadgets: Missiles
Pierce Brosnan’s third outing as Agent 007, 1999’s The World is Not Enough centres around a plot to destroy the world’s oil pipelines. 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.
The film: The Man With The Golden Gun
The car: AMC Matador
The gadgets: Turns into a plane
Francisco Scaramanga sets out to rid the world of James Bond in 1974’s 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.
The film: The Spy Who Loved Me
The car: Lotus Esprit
The gadget: Turns into a submarine
Nobody does it better… than Bond. In 1977’s tenth 007 outing, Roger Moore dons the famous Tux for a third time. 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
The car: BMW 750iL
The gadgets: Remote-controlled car, machine guns, self-inflating tires
Pierce Brosnan returns in his second outing as James Bond, sent on the trail of a powerful media baron who wants to start a war between Britain and China – for broadcasting rights. 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.
The film: Die Another Day
The car: Aston Martin Vanquish V12
The gadgets: Invisibility, missile launchers
The 20th Bond film in the franchise and Pierce Brosnan’s last appearance as the world’s greatest secret agent, Die Another Day features a North Korean dictator who undergoes radical face surgery and invents a machine which harnesses the power of the sun. 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
The car: BMW Z3
The gadgets: self-destruct system, parachute braking, stinger missiles
Pierce Brosnan shot to international fame in his first outing as debonair secret agent 007 in 1995’s smash hit 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
The car: Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante
The gadgets: tyre spikes, retractable skis, rocket system
Timothy Dalton takes his cue in his first Bond outing in 1987’s The Living Daylights, trying to investigate the mysterious deaths of MI6 agents. 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.
