No Time To Die, Daniel Craig’s fifth and final outing as James Bond, opened in the UK this week, and goes live in North America on October 8.
And as with any new 007 movie, there’s plenty of focus on what vehicles Bond uses, and renewed interest in those from previous films, which usually involves trotting out the same list of cars you’ve seen a million times.
But a look at those older movies reminds us that it wasn’t always James Bond that got the best wheels. The Bond girls and Bond villains also had their fair share of cool machinery. So what’s your favorite Bond movie car not actually driven by 007? Here are some of ours.
Never Say Never Again (1983): Renault 5 Turbo 2
Essentially a remake of Connery’s earlier Thunderball, this non-series Bond outing’s high point is a high-speed chase around twisty French streets between 007 and so-bad-she’s-good temptress Barbara Carrera.
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Bond’s ride is Yamaha’s ugly, lag-prone XJ650 Turbo motorcycle fitted with rocket boosters that make Knight Rider’s KITT seem plausible. Carrera definitely got the better end of the deal by bagging a Renault 5 Turbo 2, a mid-engined 160 hp supermini that probably handled similarly to the Porsche 911 her name suggests she should be driving.
Live and Let Die (1973): Dunham Corvorado
Live and Let Die’s Harlem setting, and the fact that the movie world was in the grip of a Blaxpoitation boom in the wake of movies like Shaft and Super Fly, gave Bond’s producers the perfect chance to showcase the kind of cars 007 was way too English and up-tight to appreciate.
Cars like the Dunham Corvorado, a 1960s Corvette dressed up with Cadillac Eldorado bodyparts by Les Dunham’s coachbuiding outfit in New Jersey. Bond doesn’t get to drive this quintessential pimpmobile, but in light of his pretty shocking treatment of women over the years, maybe he should have.
On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969): Mercury Cougar XR-7
OHMSS, the Bond movie no one talks about because it stars George Lazenby in his only turn as 007, is massively underrated. And it’s also got some great cars, including a Mercedes 600 Pullman (surely a much more sinister bad guy-mobile than Goldfinger’s Rolls Royce), Bond’s new square-edged Aston Martin DBS, and some ice-racing Minis and Mk1 Escorts.
But its 007’s soon-to-be wife Tracey’s Mercury Cougar XR-7 that steals the show in the snow. The 7.0-liter 428 Cobra Jet V8 would leave Bond’s six-cylinder DBS standing in a straight line and at least one of the movie cars is still around. It sold at auction last year for £356,500 ($481,000).
Spectre (2015): Jaguar C-X75
Jaguar canned the C-X75 before it had a chance to put it into production, but two years later Spectre’s producers persuaded Jag and Williams Advanced Engineering to build a small run of lookalikes to be used by Bond bad guy, Mr. Hinx.
Built around a steel spaceframe, featuring WRC suspension and powered by a JLR supercharged V8, the C-X75 gave Bond’s Aston DB10 a hard time around the streets of Rome, or at least that’s how it looked on film.
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Sadly, even the glowing coverage couldn’t persuade Jag to reverse its decision and put the C-X75 into production, but one of the stunt cars was offered at auction in 2019 (where it failed to sell).
Diamonds Are Forever (1971): Ford Thunderbird
The new-for-1971 Mustang looked great as a fastback, but there was no getting away from the fact that it had packed on the pounds since its mid-1960s heyday. Which made it a fitting match for 1971-spec Sean Connery, who had been tempted back to the Bond franchise with a large paycheck, one he must have converted entirely into burgers before shooting started, judging by his expanded waistline.
But given that Connery was also rocking pretty much a full wig by this point, maybe he would have been better suited to the more leisurely charms of the kitsch-but-cool vinyl-topped 1970 Ford Thunderbird Landau driven by bad guys Mr Wint and Mr Kidd.
Goldeneye (1995): Ferrari F355
The Bond franchise has jumped the shark many times in its darker years (Sean Connery’s ‘Japanese’ transformation in You Only Live Twice; all of Moonraker), but for car fans nothing wrankles more than the mountain car chase in Goldeneye.
Despite being behind the wheel of a brand new Ferrari F355, Famke Janssen’s Xenia Onatopp can’t even stay ahead of 007 in his geriatric Aston Martin DB5. After that miscarriage of justice even the ridiculous invisible Aston Vanquish in Die Another Day seems entirely believable.
Die Another Day (2002): Jaguar XKR
And speaking of Die Another Day, let’s give some appreciation for villain Zao’s Jaguar XKR convertible. These forgotten big Jag coupes might be about as roomy as a Japanese ‘capsule’ hotel room, but they’re great value today, and the idea of one with a supercharged V8 and a machine gun mounted on the rear deck firing at oncoming traffic over the front seats to clear your path isn’t without appeal. Provided you’re under 6ft 2, that is.
What’s your favorite? Leave a comment and let us know.