VeloceDrive

Bond, James Bond, Britain’s most infamous spy and first class womanizer has sawn at the wheel of many fine machinery in all of the 007 movies. Some more spectacular than others, from submarine lotus made out of miniature model cars to the world famous Bajaj Tuk Tuk.

With over twenty cars driven by 007 himself, it is quite hard a task to narrow them down to just five picks. Nonetheless, here are our top five picks influence by significance to screenplay, design, power and overall love-ability of the vehicle. Buckle up and come along for this ride and, mind the ejector seat button.

1964 ASTON MARTIN DB5 (Goldfinger)

It is almost impossible to have any conversation about James Bond without bringing up the legendary Aston Martin DB5. The DB5 appeared in the 1964 Bond movie “Goldfinger” starring Sean Connery and has since garnered a cult following. The DB5 was an evolution of the previous DB4 Grand Tourer (GT) with many styling and performance improvement to the previous model.

The DB5 featured a 4.0 litre inline six cylinder engine producing 282 horsepower and 280 pound feet of torque to the rear wheels via a ZF 5-speed manual transmission. Bond’s specific DB5 was fitted with special gadget to aid the special agent evade the bad guys in style. Some of the gadgets included a passenger ejection seat, rotating license plate, Browning machine guns hidden behind the front lights, smoke screen and many more other.

• Engine: 4.0 liter inline – six
• Transmission : 5 peed ZF manual
• Power: 282 bhp
• 0-60 : 8 seconds
• Topspeed : 145mph

1999 BMW Z8 (The World Is Not Enough)

For the movie Goldeneye in 1995, BMW got in bed with the MI6 agent by providing him with a BMW Z3. The Z3 had a forgettable debut in the movie with very little screen time and little to no action scene. Following the Z3, 007 drove a 750IL in Tomorrow Never Dies. The 7 series had a much better time as a Bond car compared to the Z3.

As both previous BMW had a lackluster showing in the Bond films,the Bavaria giants equipped James Bond with the spectacular BMW Z8. The Z8’s screen presence was fantastic and at times rivaled that of the Aston Martin DB5 in terms of design and overall appeal. Unfortunately, the Z8 met an excruciatingly painful and anticlimactic end in the 1999 film, The World Is Not Enough. The 5-litre V8 Z8 was cut in half by a helicopter with a massive rotating saw. For most 007 fanatics, the Z8 is remembered solely for its design and rarity rather than any jaw dropping action sequence in the movie.

• Engine: 5.0-liter V-8
• Power: 400 hp and 369 ft lbs of torque
• 0 – 60 mph: 4.2 seconds
• TopSpeed: 155 mph

1967 TOYOTA 2000 GT (You Only Live Twice)

For the movie “You only live twice” 007 actor Sean Connery found himself in the land of the rising sun, Japan. In need of a car, Toyota came to the rescue with the 1967 Toyota 2000GT, a two seat, front engine, rear wheel drive hard-top grand tourer with sleek styling that is only matched by the Aston Martin DB5.

The 2000GT however was met with an immediate challenge before filming even began. The grand tourer’s low roof hard-top design was a little tight for the lengthy 6’2 structure of Sean Connery, so Toyota chopped the roof off two cars creating an unintended targa top just to accommodate the actor. To this date, the two modified roadsters remain the only open top variants of the 351 units ever produced.

While the 2000GT might have not had exciting stunt scene as compared to some other 007 cars, its entry in this list is justified by the lengths Toyota had to go to just to get the vehicle featured in the movie.

• Engine : 2.3 liter Inline-six
• Power : 150 hp
• Transmission : 3 or 5 speed manual
• Topspeed : 150mph

2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (Die Another Day)

Aston Martin made a much anticipated return to the bond franchise after a 15-year hiatus with the 2002 Vanquish. Equipped with cloaking technology only seen in the likes of Star-Trek, the Vanquish could render itself invisible to the enemy thereby aiding James Bond accomplish his dangerous missions and evade capture.

The Aston Martin Vanquish outside of the bond movie was a powerful machine powered by a 460bhp V12 engine, delivering its power via a 6-speed manual gearbox controlled by an electro-hydraulic paddle shift gear change. To put simply, the Vanquish was an impressive return to the franchise and set the standards for modern day Astons and bond vehicles alike.

• Engine: 6 liter V-12
• Power: 460hp
• Transmission: 6 Speed hydraulic paddle shift
• 0-60 Time: 5 seconds
• Topspeed: 190mph

2006 Aston Martin DBS V12 (Casino Royale)

Casino Royal saw the introduction of a new bond actor in Daniel Craig and a new toy for the mad scientist Q to mess with. The Aston Martin DBS V12 was a sleek, charming and wickedly efficient car just like its pilot Bond. Its stage presence trumped that of the V-12 Vanquish in every conceivable way possible.

Powered by a massive 5.9 liter engine, the 510-hp DBS was powerful enough to re-arrange Daniel Craigs brain cells. Shame really that the one significant chase scene shop with the DBS, the car ended up flipping a record seven times in a desperate move to avoid killing the character Vesper, Bonds love interest.

• Engine: 5.9-liter V-12
• Output: 510 hp
• 0 – 60 mph: 4.3 seconds
• Top Speed: 190 mph