In anticipation of the new Bond Film No Time to Die, soon to be released in April, Jack Rix, Deputy Editor of Top Gear Magazine, gets behind the wheel of six iconic Bond vehicles. True petrolheads will know that Aston Martin & the Bond series go together like peanut butter and elly, but Top Gear’s lineup of Bond vehicles also includes fan favourites from BMW and Lotus.
The video starts with Rix hopping into the Aston Martin DB10, seen in the 2015 Bond film Spectre. Only ten of these cars were ever produced.
It’s safe to assume that most of the car’s value comes from being used as a stunt car in the movie (with Daniel Craig behind the wheel). But under the skin, this Aston is a real performer and not a prop. Beneath its carbon fibre bodywork lies the lightly modified underpinnings of a last-generation V8 Vantage. The DB10 features a wider track, 6-speed manual gearbox, and the Vantage’s same 4.7-litre V8 putting out around 500 bhp.
Bond cars:
Following the DB10 comes the BMW Z8 from 1999’s The World Is Not Enough. While it isn’t as special as something like a DB5, the Z8 is quite a special BMW. It boasts the V8 heart from the E39 M5, and very iconic styling. Rix noted the centrally aligned gauges, and 12 spoke steering wheel as some of the most notable design queues. While the Z8 in the video was a factory example, the Z8 seen in the film could be summoned via its key fob and fire missiles from its front flanks.
Top Gear features five other iconic vehicles in the video but one that comes immediately to mind is stunt/rally driver, Mark Higgins’ DB5 stunt car. Higgins had the task of making Daniel Craig look like a driving god in the latest Bond film. In order to do so, he needed a DB5 that looked like the original but didn’t drive like the original. While Higgins was hesitant to provide information on how they changed the classic DB5 the engine note reminded Rix of a BMW straight-six.
Each of the Bond cars is unique in its own way, but they all evoke the dramatic quality of the movies that we love so much about the movie series. While it’s easy to be partial to the Aston Martins, the BMW and Lotus are some of the most unforgettable Bond cars ever. Tell us your favourite in the comments.
Source: Top Gear