Top 7 for 007: Rating Bond's rides
Some were better than others, but the Bond flicks get us going back to the theater every time. There's just something irreplicably stylish and enchanting about the entire series, and 007's rides make up a big part of that allure... at least for hopeless car nuts like us. But just like the acting and storyline vary with each production, so does the coolness of Bond's cars. So where does each one rank? Just prior to the launch of the latest installment with Daniel Craig in Casino Royale, the pundits at Cars.com convened two specialists to rank the top 7 of 007's cars.
Earning top honors was the classic '64 Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger (which we also got to see in its cameo encore appearance in Casino Royale), ahead of the '75 Lotus Esprit featured in The Spy Who Loved Me. Surprisingly, the '97 BMW 750iL from Tomorrow Never Dies started from the second row, out-qualifying the '85 Aston Martin Volante from The Living Daylights, the 1930's Bentley Mark IV (From Russia With Love), the 2002 Aston Martin Vanquish (Die Another Day), and the '99 BMW Z8 (The World is Not Enough). The experts also gave honorable mention to the markedly more affordable '61 Sunbeam Alpine from Dr. No.
For our part, we'd certainly have placed the Vanquish ahead of the 7-Series, and ahead of the '85 Volante, but the real question is where the specially-made Aston Martin DBS would slot into the list. (And for that matter, what will Bond drive in the next episode?)
[Source: Cars.com]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Viv 10:43PM (7/17/2007)
It looks like Bond will have to drive a Jaguar (ehhhhhh). Since Ford has that contract which will end with the next movie. I hope they can come to some sort of a settlement so that Craig can drive his Astons.
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Richard 11:04PM (7/17/2007)
The star of that 7-ser was the Sony Ericsson phone he drove through the garage with.
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Val 3:54AM (7/18/2007)
wasn't it a nokia in the 750i?
Dave 11:05PM (7/17/2007)
Maybe the next movie will feature the triumphant return of the flying AMC Matador.
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bmw122487 11:15PM (7/17/2007)
Be a huge a bond fan when i was young as well as now i need to thank the franchise for that 750il BMW chase as it was the spark that starting my love affair with BMW, two of my favorite things Bond and BIMMERS. That my favorite car second only to the red esprit that had a small cameo in the ice rank scene in "For Your Eyes Only" that was a sexy car.
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Doc Lucas 11:20PM (7/17/2007)
It's highly subjective to pick the top seven Bond cars.
One of the best chase scenes was in the crappiest car Bond every drove. It was the lowly AMC Hornet from The Main With The Golden Gun, with Sheriff J.W. Pepper riding shotgun.
BTW, CGI stunts blow!
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phil 11:54PM (7/17/2007)
Well, technically, Ford still owns part of Aston Martin, so maybe Bond will still drive an Aston.
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Dave 12:13AM (7/18/2007)
Bond drove a Mustang in Diamonds Are Forever.
Maybe its time for an encore.
Better yet, he could drive a GT(40).
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Johnny Rocket 2:02AM (7/18/2007)
The BMW 7, T-Bird, and '70s Mustang had no business with 007.
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Jackie 2:38AM (7/18/2007)
Coming from a Ford Family, I hated to see the Astin leave the flagship of cars. A lot of people did not know Ford owned Astin and as long as it did. But atlast the sale is complete. The buyers are looking to take the Jaguar and Land Rover names as well. There is nothing wrong with Bond driving a Mustang Shelby! I'd take it over a BMW anyday....
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Jeff 2:38AM (7/18/2007)
Bond drove a silver Saab 900 Turbo in three of the books...so that's my favorite :D
As for the movie cars, my favorite was the Esprit, so that's cool that it made the list. I think Bond needs a Europa at some point.
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tariq 4:59AM (7/18/2007)
bond will drive the 2010 esprit in his next movie
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Jim 7:19AM (7/18/2007)
What about the white Toyota 2000GT convertible he drove through Japan in You Only Live Twice? Yes it was a custom job, not production, but so were lots of his cars.
See it at
www.1-18scalecars.com/0Toyota_2000GT_Convertible_007.htm
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Gooch 8:07AM (7/18/2007)
My favorite car in a Bond movie was one that he didn't drive -- the F355 driven by Xenia Onatopp in the hills of the Cote d'Azur. Bond raced her with his DB-5 (I think it was a DB-5; please correct me if I'm wrong).
Daniel Craig's Aston was stunning. I wish there was much more of it in Casino Royale, but alas, it wasn't really featured.
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andrew 8:31AM (7/18/2007)
about the Beemer/Bimmer debate, it said in Car and Driver that Beemer refers to the motorcycles, and Bimmer to the cars. Why they are different, I have no idea
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geo.stewart 8:37AM (7/18/2007)
Its so that all the Dr Seuss wannabes have something to write about.
Bim's Beemer zooms
Beem's Bimmer vrooms
tcc3 10:02AM (7/18/2007)
Never understood that myself. "Bimmer" doesnt make sense phonetically.
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Brandon 12:26PM (7/18/2007)
My favorite has always been the Toyota 2000GT convertible
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Damon Lavrinc 1:53PM (7/18/2007)
What? No love for the Citroen 2CV in For Your Eyes Only? Blasphemy!
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bauhaus 11:00AM (7/19/2007)
Die Another Day is far and away the worst of the Brosnan films, but the introduction of the A-M Vanquish is the best car introduction in the entire series:
[empty platform rolls out]
Q: "Your new transportation."
007: "I think you've been down here too long."
Q: "Aston-Martin call it the Vanquish. We call it... the Vanish."
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