Manuel is a passionate, driven, and techsavvy AV technician, Since its original inception 46 years ago, the character of James Bond has become synonymous with espionage, beautiful women, exotic locations, and luxurious cars. Over the course of 22 movies and numerous novels (along with a newly announced 23rd movie to come), James Bond, as an action icon, has created an automotive legacy that involves some of the world’s finest cars.
James Bond has arguably driven more different types of cars than any other screen character in cinema history. From the cool Sunbeam Alpine and Aston Martin of the 1960s, to the sleek Lotus Esprits of the 1970s and 1980s, to the chic BMW sports cars of the 1990s, and racing into the 21st century with Aston Martin’s beast of a car – the Vanquish, James Bond and the actors who have portrayed him have been behind the wheel of some of the world’s best vehicles.
While we will explore all of them in due time, for the sake of simplicity, let’s start at the beginning with the first Bond film, 1962’s “Dr. No”.
The first 007 film is notable for not featuring the gadget-loaded cars that future movies would prominently showcase. In this initial cinematic outing for Bond, he drove a 1961 Sunbeam Alpine. Light blue in color, the Sunbeam was considered somewhat unremarkable in its day, and the film portrayed the car as nothing more than a means to get Bond from point A to point B. It was a mere production model and didn’t have the cool cache that future Bond cars would possess. The same can be said of the cars featured in the next Bond film, 1963’s “From Russia With Love”. James drove a 4.5-liter Bentley Sports Tourer (which was a favorite of Ian Fleming, the writer of the Bond novels), and was also chauffeured in a black Rolls Royce. While these two cars are nothing to scoff at, it wouldn’t be until the third feature film in the series that Bond would begin to become synonymous with stunning cars.
“Goldfinger,” released in 1964, marked the first time James Bond would be assigned what would become his signature vehicle: the Aston Martin. In this movie, James drove an Aston Martin DB Mark III, which was originally modified for racing purposes. This car was the only gadget-laden car to be featured in the original Bond novels, although writer Ian Fleming mostly avoided gadgetry in his books. It included switches to change the color of the front and rear lights, reinforced steel bumpers, a Colt .45 pistol in a secret compartment under the driver’s seat, and a homing device similar to the DB5 in the movie.
However, Ken Adam, the production designer, and John Stears, the special effects supervisor, were still not satisfied. In the autumn of 1963, they visited the Aston Martin works in Newport Pagnell to discuss several modifications with a team of designers. They chose what was then the fastest horse in the stable: a silver metallic Aston Martin DB5 (silver birch would have been the factory standard). According to the script, Bond was supposed to escape with the car and then use it for protection. To make this possible, the following extras were installed in the car with the license plate BMT 216 A:
- Two machine guns that emerged from behind the parking lights
- Smoke canisters that could be deployed from the exhaust pipes
- A retractable bullet shield located in the car’s tail end
- License plates that could change to reflect different countries of origin
- An ejection seat, adapted from a fighter airplane cockpit assembly
Also included were an oil spray device, a radar screen, a mechanism that dispensed nails onto the road, an extending front bumper, and tire cutters that rotated on the wheel hubs.
Despite the added espionage and action-associated devices for the purpose of filming, the actual vehicle was built with a power output of 330 horsepower, and its top speed of 232 km/h was not compromised by some of the extras needed for the movie.
Future articles will delve into the James Bond vehicles by decade, but the first signature James Bond car deserved its own dedicated write-up.
Manuel Marino is a seasoned Senior Producer, Music Composer, and Artist with over a decade of experience. He specializes in branded entertainment across various mediums, including video games, films, and advertising campaigns. With 20+ years as a game music composer, Manuel has worked on numerous platforms, creating diverse orchestral soundtracks. HIRE ME
