In 22 films spanning 50 years of secret missions, world famous spy James Bond has driven some of Great Britain's most coveted cars.
While James Bond is famously associated with Aston Martins, he has driven a variety of marques -- though he indeed seems to favor luxury British brands like Bentley, Triumph and Lotus. A few French brands made the cut in the 1980s, before agent 007 moved on to BMW, after which he picked up again with his original choice.
My name is Martin, Aston Martin
The Aston Martin DB5 is arguably the vehicle most associated with James Bond, who drives it in many movies including Goldfinger, Thunderball and GoldenEye. This very special model features a bulletproof windshield, lateral windows and rear window, a revolving licence plate, radar included in the dashboard and weapons like a machine gun and a water jet. The DB5 also displays an ejection seat triggered by the gear stick, if needed.
Faithful to Aston Martin, Bond also had the pleasure of taking a seat in various generations of the DBS, in the movie On Her Majesty's Secret Service and more recently in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace.
In The Living Daylights, Bond drives a V8 Vantage Volante packed with special features (laser beams, rocket-firing device, retractable skis), while in Die Another Day he drives an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, also equipped with an ejection seat. Bond could even make that particular model totally invisible if he chose.
God bless the British cars
When not in an Aston Martin, James Bond has still shown a taste for convertibles and sporty British cars. The very first model in which he appears on film is a cabriolet Sunbeam Alpine II, on the roads of Jamaica, in Dr. No.
The Lotus Esprit S1 of The Spy Who Loved Me is one of the most spectacular cars Bond has driven. Its special powers included the ability to transform into an amphibian vehicle and plunge in waters of more than 10 meters. A few years later, he drove a Lotus Esprit Turbo in For Your Eyes Only.
James Bond was also seen in a Triumph Stag Roadster in Diamonds Are Forever.
Bond flirts with BMW and others
But James Bond hasn't exclusively driven British cars. At the end of the 1990s, he drove BMWs: a Z3 in GoldenEye, 750li in Tomorrow Never Dies and Z8 in The World Is Not Enough. In 1981's For Your Eyes Only he drove a Citroën 2CV and recently, in Casino Royale, agent Bond took the wheel of a Ford Mondeo.
