The James Bond Cars 1987-2021
The James Bond movie franchise will soon be celebrating 60 years, covering 25 movies with the 2021 release of No Time To Die. So many modes of transport have featured over the journey that we won’t attempt to cover them all here. To keep the list interesting, and relevant, we’ve carefully curated a collection of the most iconic and memorable cars whether borrowed, hired or stolen. If James Bond didn’t care then neither do we. There’s even a couple of boats, a motorbike, a tuk tuk, and a Kenworth truck.
The Living Daylights - 1987
Aston Martin AM V8
With the introduction of new James Bond Timothy Dalton in The Living Daylights, the producers brought back Aston Martin after an 18 year hiatus. The Aston Martin AM V8 was kitted out with more gadgets than the DB5 first seen in Goldfinger:
Booster rocket behind rear number plate
Ice tyres with spikes
Side-mounted retractable outriggers for use on snow and ice
Two heat seeking missiles concealed behind fog lights
Laser beams built into front hubcaps
Heads-up display for targeting missiles
Police band scanner radio
Self destruct system
The self-destruct system is used in a key scene, though Aston Martin fans can breathe a sigh of relief - the car blown up was a fiberglass model.
Apart from the more muscular frontal styling and V8 engine, the AM V8 was virtually unchanged from the DBS James Bond drove in 1969's On Her Majesty's Secret Service.
In The Living Daylights, the Aston Martin is supposedly a ‘winterised’ version of a convertible Vantage Volante seen earlier in the film. Thus it has ‘Vantage’ badges on the flanks, however the car itself is clearly not a Vantage. The Vantage version of the AM V8 had a huge lip spoiler and no grill opening - unlike the Aston Martin seen in The Living Daylights.
Aston Martin Vantage Volante convertible
The Volante seen in The Living Daylights belonged to Aston Martin chairman Victor Gauntlet.
The Vantage Volante featured in The Living Daylights again does not have Vantage body modifications despite Vantage badges, but apparently did have the Vantage engine. At 390hp the 5.3 dohc V8 Vantage could do 0-60mph in 5.2 seconds with top speed of 170mph, making it among the very quickest cars in the world at the time.
License To Kill - 1989
Kenworth W900B truck
The Aerodyne model W900B semi-trailer was one of three custom-built for the film by Kenworth. Four trucks in all were used in the film, along with a Maserati Biturbo 425 - all owned by evil drug baron Sanchez. In order to perform a wheelie, the truck Bond drove required a lot of modification and proves pivotal in what is one of the more novel Bond chase sequences.
GoldenEye - 1995
BMW Z3 roadster
Promotional image from BMW - the above scene isn’t from the actual movie GoldenEye.
GoldenEye was not only the first film starring Pierce Brosnan as 007, it was the first to put Bond in a BMW. The product placement deal was a success for BMW with over 15,000 orders for the Z3 after the film’s release. GoldenEye was the first of three back-to-back films in which Bond drove a BMW, before being dropped in favour of Aston Martin.
Although we do not get to see the gadgets in action, there is a scene where Q shows Bond over the car - “BMW. Agile. Five forward gears. All points radar. Self destruct system. And naturally, all the usual refinements. And this, I am particularly proud of – behind the headlights, stinger missiles.”
Aston Martin DB5 & Ferrari F355 GTS
With cameras mounted on her Ferrari F355 GTS, Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) overtakes Bond’s DB5 whilst driving through the mountains of southern France
The Aston Martin DB5 returned in GoldenEye, making a brief appearance early in the movie whilst flirting with Xenia Onatopp (Famke Janssen) trying to run him off the road in a red Ferrari F355 GTS.
Tomorrow Never Dies - 1997
BMW 750iL
Loaned to Bond by Q at an Avis rental station in Germany, the BWM 750iL is equipped with bullet-proof windows, electrified door handles. missile launchers, caltrops, self-inflating tires and a near-impenetrable body. It can be remotely controlled via a special Ericsson cell phone. During a car chase inside a multi-story carpark, Bond drives from the rear seat before exiting the 750iL and remotely driving it to the rooftop and through a wall, crash-landing it into an Avis station across the street.
Equipped with a 320hp 5.4ltr V12, the understated BMW sedan may have looked dull, but it was a swift and capable high speed grand tourer capable of 155mph.
The World Is Not Enough - 1999
BMW Z8
The World is Not Enough featured a BMW Z8 convertible, and was the last film to have 007 drive a BMW. With a 4.9ltr, 42 valve dohc V8 producing 400hp, the Z8 was as potent as it was pretty. James Bond uses stinger missiles to blow up a helicopter hovering above him, before fleeing the car as it is sliced in half by yet another helicopter equipped with tree-cutting saws.
Die Another Day - 2002
Aston Martin Vanquish V12
Die Another Day put Bond in an Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, complete with an invisibility cloak that is widely quoted as the most far-fetched gadget in a James Bond film. Q notes that the Aston has all the usual refinements, including ejector seat, torpedoes and target seeking shotguns mounted on the bonnet.
Shooting the Die Another Day chase sequence on ice.
Jaguar XKR
007’s V12 Vanquish is pursued on ice by a modified, green Jaguar XKR convertible driven by Moon's henchman Zao (Rick Yune). The car was equipped with a Gatling gun mounted behind the seats, missiles fired through the front grille, rocket launchers in the doors and mortar bombs in the boot.
Both the Vanquish and XKR had to be fitted with four-wheel drive to perform the required ice-driving stunts that were filmed in Iceland.
Casino Royale - 2006
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
For Daniel Craig’s first outing as 007 he drives an Aston Martin DBS V12 equipped with hidden trays housing a defibrillator and a silenced Walther PPK. The DBS name was revived from the late sixties model Bond drove in On Her Majesty's Secret Service. In Casino Royale the DBS V12 is rolled and destroyed during a high pursuit where 007 swerves to avoid a tied-up Vesper Lynd in the middle of the road. In the crash, the DBS barrel rolled seven times, breaking the record for a cannon-assisted barrel roll (the stunt car had an air-powered cannon behind the driver)
Ford Mondeo turbo
Ford's third generation Mondeo was one of a number of Ford vehicles showcased in Casino Royale as part of a product placement deal with the blue oval. Ford’s involvement with the James Bond franchise continued from the preceding film Die Another Day, and stemmed from their ownership of Aston Martin (Ford no longer owns A-M).
Because the Mondeo was not in production when the movie was filmed, a hand-crafted pre-production model was shipped from a Ford facility in Cologne, Germany, to the Bahamas where Casino Royale was filmed.
Aston Martin DB5
The DB5 returned yet again in Casino Royale, where Bond wins the car in a poker game against villain Alex Dimitrios. To add insult to injury, Bond uses the DB5 to steal Dimitrios' girlfriend!
Quantum Of Solace - 2008
Aston Martin DBS V12
The car used in the opening scene of Quantum of Solace is dark grey as opposed to the silver-grey car seen in Casino Royale. In this film the car is almost completely wrecked after being chased and shot at by villains driving Alfa Romeo 159s. According to Aston Martin: "The DBS is not of the understated elegance of a DB9, nor the youthful agility of the V8 Vantage. It is explosive power in a black tie and has its own unique character which will equal that of James Bond" said Aston Martin design director Marek Reichman. "That's what the project is about."
The DBS name was inspired by Bond however, as a tribute to the DBS of 1969, as driven by George Lazenby in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service.
The DBS V12 seen here without all the damage inflicted on the car in the opening chase sequence of Quantum Of Solace.
Skyfall - 2012
Aston Martin DB5
It's unclear whether the DB5 in Skyfall is the same car that is seen in Casino Royale, or a second one Bond already owned. It was reported at the time that Skyfall director Sam Mendes wanted to pay homage to the classic DB5 from Goldfinger, so set about basing the new car on that, rather than the DB5 that appeared in Casino Royale. Thus the Skyfall car bears closer resemblance to the Sean Connery vehicle, with same license plates and right-hand drive.
The1:3 scale model made for Skyfall.
Lovers of classic Aston Martins will be relieved to know that the DB5 was not blown up at the end of the film, but rather a 1:3 scale model created from 18 separate pieces made using a 3D printer.
SPECTRE - 2015
Aston Martin DB10
In Spectre, the DB10 wasn't supposed to be Bond's car. Initially assigned to 007 before being taken off him and issued to another 00 agent, Bond took the car anyway. Crude and unfinished on the inside, the striking DB10 was an unlikely car for a secret agent, being such a distinctive one-of-a-kind.
Aston Martin stated "The DB10 gives a glimpse to the future design direction for the next generation of Aston Martins." Later it was revealed the DB10 was based on the new V8 Vantage that debuted in 2017 with modified design so that the Vantage didn't become public whilst in development.
No Time To Die - 2021
To mark the 25th official Bond film, four Aston Martins will be featured. From the classic DB5 and V8 Vantage to the new DBS Superleggera and Aston Martin Valhalla, there is something for every Bond fan.
Aston Martin Valhalla
The 2024 Aston Martin Valhalla (above) will be a mid-engine ‘hypercar’ with a hybrid powertrain, carbon fibre everywhere and dihedral doors. Power is supplied by a Mercedes-AMG twin-turbo V-8 and plug-in-hybrid setup that combined, can produce over 900hp for an estimated top speed just shy of 220mph. Aston Martin is reputed to be building only 999 examples – so get in line now if you want one!
Aston Martin DBS Superleggera
With a 5.2 litre twin-turbo V12 of 715hp, the DBS Superleggera has a reputed top speed of 211mph. Aston Martin unveiled a DBS Superleggera in 2019 to celebrate 50 years of the James Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service. The car followed the specification of the original DBS used in the film - Olive Green exterior and traditional Aston Martin grill. Only 50 units were made.
Aston Martin V8 Vantage
The car first seen in 1987’s The Living Daylights, the gorgeous mid ‘80s Aston Martin V8 Vantage makes a cameo appearance in No Time To Die. The Vantage was the high-performance version of the ‘standard’ Aston Martin AM V8 - itself plenty fast with a dohc 5.3ltr V8.
Aston Martin DB5
The return of the legendary DB5, and it doesn’t just make a cameo appearance in No Time To Die. The most iconic of all James Bond cars plays a key role in a major action sequence - note the rotating Gattling guns emanating from the headlights in the above scene.
WANT MORE Click here to see our other Bond galleries and read about the James Bond cars of 1962-1985
About the author
Raph Tripp is a passionate classic car enthusiast, writer and founder of TunnelRam.net. If you wish to publish this article in part or in whole, please link to the source and credit Raph Tripp and tunnelram.net . This is an original Tunnel Ram production ©2021 Tunnel Ram. All images remain the property of the original copyright holders. Bond film copyrights