We have all seen at least one of them. Most of us have seen them all. The on-screen exploits of the international super spy James Bond has thrilled movie goers for a half century now. Starting with Dr. No’s original theatrical release in 1962, we have seen 22 epics, full of car chases, exotic locations and some of the worlds most beautiful women. Serving “Queen and Country” certainly puts you life at risk on a regular basis. That said, Bond has always had a couple things to help him out. The Walther PPK in his perfectly tailored jacket, disarming charm, a way with the ladies, a few tricks from “Q” and of course there is the car. This is usually a high end sports car to begin with, throw in a couple gifts out of the SAS Christmas catalog and we have ourselves some of the most beloved movie moments. While many automotive sites have been listing off some of the great Bond cars over the last half century, and there have been some great ones, here at AK we thought we would look at some of the ones that should have made the cut.
Underwater Adventure
With the introduction of Daniel Craig as the latest Bond, the series was rebooted. The first in this new series was “Casino Royale” (2006). Though it shares little else with the original, it does have one major thing in common. It shares the name of the 1967 spy spoof of the same name. Here at AK we got to thinking, what if they rebooted other James Bond movies? Try for instance, “The Spy Who Loved Me”. In this classic, Roger Moore is chasing after an evil mastermind who is looking to start a war between the West and the Soviets. Of course as an evil mastermind, you need a fitting lair. Something that can impress other evil masterminds when you have them over for dinner. In this case it was an underwater base, creatively titled Atlantis. While being chased by some “baddies”, Bond careens through the narrow, winding roads of coastal Sardinia in a beautiful Lotus Espirit S1. After out driving the Ford Taurus sedans that were chasing him, he proceeds to fire anti air rockets at the helicopters. This still is not enough to evade his enemies and so Bond pulls out the big trick. The beautiful British sports car is driven right off the side of a cliff and into the crystal blue waters of the Mediterranean. Not to worry though, this Lotus is specially fitted with a full submarine conversion, rudder fins and all.
If they rebooted this classic Bond, what would he drive today ? Our answer, the Rinspeed sQuba. This 2008 concept from Swiss automaker Rinspeed looks like a Lotus Elise with a pretty nice body kit. Seeing as the new James Bond is all about new age problems, this car has a fully electric power train. Most importantly, seeing as the car was inspired by the very movie in question, the car is fully submergible. With two electric motors powering the propellers and supplemented by two Seabob water jets in the back, the sQuba is submergible up to 33 ft. This car is the perfect modern day translation of a classic Bond moment.
A Golden Opportunity
Of the more “recent” Bonds, one of the more memorable ones was “GoldenEye”. One of the last movies to deal with the Russians, Bond spends a good bit of this movie globe trotting. From London, to St. Petersburg, to Cuba, Bond is constantly on the move in this movie. Surprisingly this is one of the few Bonds where he doesn’t spend much time in a car. In fact the requisite chase scene in any Bond movie was done this time with a T55 Russian tank rather than the usual high end sports car. We got to thinking, what car from this era would have made a great addition to this movie. It had to be fast, look great and reasonably look like it could be stashing surface-to-air missiles. Not too many car really fit that bill … it was the 90’s.
Finally what came to mind was the Jaguar XJ220. Originally made as a weekend project by Jaguar Chief Engineer Jim Randle and his “Saturday Club”, this was sheer fantasy. Intended as the spiritual successor of the 1960’s XJ13, the heart and soul of this monster was a 6.2 L quad-cam V12. The outlandish body design concentrated heavily on aerodynamics and the scissor doors gave it a truly futuristic appeal. With an intended top speed of 220 mph, this car was never meant for the slow lane. Sadly when the car when to production in the early 90’s, it was refitted with a twin turbo V6, rear-wheel drive and regular doors. You have to imagine that while Jaguar told us it was engineering reasons, the truth is more mathematical. Despite the over half a million (USD) price tag on the car, the response was overwhelming. Only 281 of the road version were ever produced and only one of the concept version. Bond may actually have to return this car in one piece.
The Queen, Earl Gray and All Things British
Bond isn’t Bond without his heritage. The British spy has always been a big fan of all things from his motherland. That said, he has always had an affinity for Bentley, Rolls Royce, Jaguar, Lotus and of course Aston Martins. The iconic DB5 may be the most recognizable of Bond vehicles and has been a reoccurring object in a plethora of Bond movies. So … with this new reboot, do you reboot his love affair with British motoring. We don’t think so. Lucky for us, Aston still makes cars that are just as perfect, both to look at and under the bonnet. While the DB5 was the pinnacle of Aston design and engineering at the time and the currently used DBS is very easy on the eyes, we think they should take it a step further.
At the very, very top of Aston’s loftily line up is the now legendary One-77. With a design befitting a Cybertron ex-pat and a 750 hp V12 engine, this car truly is the best of everything Aston has done so far. It, like Bond himself, was originally shown covered in a “Savile Row” bespoke skirt. This was enough to rouse the interest of the entire automotive world. Once the veil was lifted, instant excitement spread through the community. Including the large engine, 6-speed manual transmission and the Perrelli P-Zero tires, the all carbon fiber car still only weighs a little over 3000 lbs. The styling looks like it may already be hiding some goodies from Q’s bag, so it wouldn’t be a stretch to see Bond shooting bullets, missiles, smoke screens or even the occasional laser from this beast. This is, like Bond, the best that the Brits have to offer.
An Appreciation For The Classics
While the Bond series has seen a reboot and a bit of an update from the character we all know and love, there is still something undeniably classic about him. Maybe its the subtle yet masculine sense of style, the use of his words, the way he orders a drink or maybe just the way he carries himself. Whatever it is, there is classic sensibility to Bond that never goes out of style. The same can be said of his cars. The cars that have made guest apprentices on the screen with Her Majesty’s best have often been as iconic and timeless as Bond himself. The afore mentioned DB5 or Lotus would still pull eyes on the highway today as it did back then.
That said, we wanted Bond in a car that was both classic yet modern. This is a high bar for a car to get right. One of the few to do it was the Wiesmann GT. The styling is immediately noticed. Obviously styled to invoke the classic designs of the 30’s and 40’s, this car begs to be paid attention to. The clean lines and classic lights harken to a different time in automotive history, much as Bond’s Zenga suits. While the design is a classic, the engineering is anything but old on this car. With an all aluminium-monocoque chassis, carbon fiber body and the 547 hp V8 borrowed from the M3, this car is all about it’s tech. Fitted with aluminum double wishbone suspension and coil springs both front and rear and anti roll bars, this car handles much newer than it looks. This kind of design is perfect for Bond, or at the very least, the evil mastermind he is chasing.
Understanding the Priciple
While Bond has driven many beautiful cars, and this list has quite a few great options, the formula for a Bond car has always been the same. It must be fast, must look pretty, must have room for him and a lady friend and most importantly, when possible, must be British. There are few cars, currently, that fit that bill. The Aston’s DBS is one of them, but he is already using that. If only a British car maker, other than Aston, would make a 2 seat sports car that looks aggressive, moves like a bat out of hell and might be hiding a few gadgets. Oh wait …
Jaguar answered this call almost a month ago. It’s quick, pretty and most of all … British. The F-Type roadster has been something that has teased the automotive world for over a year now. After making sure that all of us had salivated long enough, Jag pulled of the sheets off of this beauty … and it was worth the wait. The F uses an all aluminum chassis and additional anti-vibration measures on the underpinning. This has to be a good thing for a man who loves machine gun on his car as much as Bond does. The supercharged 488 hp V8 can rocket this car from a standstill to 60 mph in a little over 4 seconds. Every detail was attended to, a perfect platform for Q to begin his … “upgrades”.
Next In Line
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2F_MrfdMLE]
All this is leading up to the new James Bond movie coming out early November, here in the states. This newest installment, titled Skyfall, will be the longest and has been described as the best Bond movie yet. Daniel Craig is back as Ian Fleming’s James Bond 007. In Skyfall, Bond’s loyalty to M is tested as her past comes back to haunt her. As MI6 comes under attack, 007 must track down and destroy the threat, no matter how personal the cost. The film is from Albert R. Broccoli’s EON Productions, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios, and Sony Pictures Entertainment. Directed by Sam Mendes. While it is not been mentioned what he is driving, you can be sure it meets the standard of the world’s greatest spy.
( Question: What was your favorite Bond car ? What car deserved to be on this list, but wasn’t ? )