This week’s ranking in the James Bond series involves his land vehicles. What qualifies is any land vehicle (motorized or not) driven by 007. If Bond is in the car as a passenger, that vehicle does NOT qualify. Also, only one vehicle per film please. Once again, Never Say Never Again is eligible to be included.
So how would you rank the James Bond land vehicles?
Here’s my list:
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2002 Aston Martin Vanquish – DIE ANOTHER DAY – Yes, my list starts with a shocker. Die Another Day in the top spot!!!
I like the gadgets available in/on the car–motion-sensing guns, defense missiles, thermal imaging–and yes, the invisible car doesn’t bother me as that technology is/was being worked on at the time albeit admittedly not as successful as in the film, but I’m perfectly fine with it for this one case. I also love the use of the ejector seat and, perhaps equally as important, I think the car itself looks great–probably the best looking one in the series. -
1976 Lotus Esprit S1 – THE SPY WHO LOVED ME – Another terrific gadget-laden car. The sleek looking Lotus is the second most iconic James Bond car for a reason–for its ability to go on land and underwater. The car looks fabulous and has great gadgets–surface to air missile, cement spray, underwater mine, and underwater missile–which is all well-utilized on screen. Easily the best Roger Moore car. Simply a classic.
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1985 Aston Martin V8 – THE LIVING DAYLIGHTS – Timothy Dalton’s best car has a lot to like–laser-cutting hubcaps, missiles, bullet-proof glass, studded tires, skis, and turbo boost. Highly effective on the bare roads or on snow and ice. It looks really good too. Great car.
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1963 Aston Martin DB5 – GOLDFINGER – Another shocker, the most iconic car in the 007 series only at #4?!
Yes. The DB5 looks cool and its gadgets are great–revolving number plates, oil slick, bullet-proof shield, machine guns, and, of course, the immortal ejector seat, which is why this original gadget car is so iconic. However, having said that, it is not my favorite. Don’t get me wrong, I really like the DB5, but I like all those listed above (and their gadgets) just a little bit better. -
1997 BMW 750iL – TOMORROW NEVER DIES – Perhaps the most fun scene involving a Bond car chase involves this Pierce Brosnan vehicle. Terrific gadgets with sunroof missiles, tire spikes, tear gas, fingerprint scanning glovebox, bullet-proof windows, re-inflatable tires, and ability to be remote controlled. While the 750iL is unusual in being a four-door Bond car, it had to be that way to have Bond drive from the backseat via remote control. Very entertaining scene and a fantastic car.
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1999 BMW Z8 – THE WORLD IS NOT ENOUGH – A nice little car with surface to air missiles, remote starting, and usage with remote control. Not seen on screen much, it nevertheless still does some good, entertaining things. The biggest problem is that much like most of the Brosnan-era cars, it’s a BMW instead of the Aston Martin, which I think is a really missed opportunity. Much like the unfortunate mistake of not having a Bond film released in 2007, I think we had a missed opportunity with EON not using the Aston Martin DB7, and its best chance was in 1999 with TWINE. But having said that, the Z8 is still a good car and makes my top six.
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2015 Aston Martin DB10 – SPECTRE – Daniel Craig’s best car is missing some of its gadgets, but there’s enough there with the flame thrower and a twist on the ejector seat to put it high on my list. The car looks good, but it might have benefitted with being even higher on my list if it only had a few more stunts and/or gadgets during the chase scene.
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2007 Aston Martin DBS – CASINO ROYALE – Great looking car with minimal gadgets. Not seen on screen much either, its biggest claim to fame is the world record-setting tumbling crash near the end of the film. A horrible automobile death, yes, but jaw-droppingly impressive too. Would rank higher if it had more gadgets.
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1968 Aston Martin DBS Vantage – ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE – The first non-gadget car on this list belongs to George Lazenby. The car looks great and has a fun little scene, but the lack of gadgets keep it from being higher on the list. Nevertheless, it’s still good enough to crack the top 10.
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1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 – DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER – This car features in Sean Connery’s best car chase. Taking over the streets of Las Vegas, Bond puts the vehicle through its paces as he outmaneuvers the local cops. Only a wrong way pick-up shot mars the chase, but the car still gets my top non-Bond/MI6 owned (while still driven by 007) spot and earns a top 10 finish on my list as well.
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1974 AMC Hornet – THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN – This car features in arguably the greatest car stunt in the series with the 360-degree barrel roll–a stunt so good they copied it with both boat and helicopter barrel rolls later in the series. The car looks ok too, but its the stunt that really carries it.
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Yahama XJ 650 Seca Turbo – NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN – I’m not a big motorcycle guy, but it is nice to see Bond drive one tricked with some gadgets–and it comes from a non-EON film! I just wish there was another gadget or two on the bike as all we have are a turbo boost and what seems to be rotating bumpers (although that might be part of the turbo boost). Still, a nice little addition to the series.
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1981 Alfa Romeo GTV 6 – OCTOPUSSY – The first stolen car on this list. The car looks good but doesn’t do anything special in a pretty standard car chase.
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1980 Citroën 2CV 6 – FOR YOUR EYES ONLY – Now we get to the part of the list where the vehicles may not be so great but their performances in chases boost their stocks. And no car is boosted more than the Citroën. If it wasn’t for the chase, this car would be toward the bottom of the list, but Bond drives the hell out of it, and it performs beautifully all the while taking some punishment. One of the best chases in the Bond series lifts this car to the top of the bottom half of my list.
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1998 Toyota Land Cruiser – NO TIME TO DIE – The DB5 probably should have been the pick here as it has gadgets and a better chase scene. However, I opted for the Toyota in this film because I already used the DB5 in Goldfinger and didn’t want to double up. Fortunately, the Toyota also gets a good chase scene, in this case, an off-road one, which is new for the series. I like the Toyota knocking the other vehicles off the road. The Land Cruiser might not be quite as good as the DB5, but it holds its own.
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1983 Renault 11 – A VIEW TO A KILL – I wonder how much this film affected Renault 11 sales seeing as how it kept being cut in half during its chase. In full, the car looks fine, and it does get credit for being able to be driven with only its front half intact. But I cannot rate it any higher as it appears on-screen to not be a well-built car. The obvious use of stuntmen probably doesn’t help its case either.
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1989 Kenworth W-00 B – LICENCE TO KILL – The only tanker truck on my list. Great stunt work capped by said vehicle going on nine wheels! It is part of the best action-packed climax in the series. I wouldn’t want to drive it, but its performance in the chase earns it a place here.
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KhPZ T-54 – GOLDENEYE – The most destructive vehicle driven by Bond in the series. The tank chase elicits lots of laughs and is a lot of fun. It’s great to see 007 with the overwhelming vehicle advantage for once. I wouldn’t want to drive or ride in this one either, but that’s not the point of this list. A very memorable scene.
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1961 Sunbeam Alpine – DR. NO – The first “real” Bond car. It’s the second car driven by 007 in the film, but it’s his first personal one. The obvious use of back projection during the car chase hurts its ranking. Nevertheless, the car looks good and fun to drive.
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1947 AEC Regent III – LIVE AND LET DIE – Another vehicle I wouldn’t want to drive. Bond commandeers an old double-decker bus and proceeds to go on a brief, yet entertaining, chase, which is capped by the vehicle becoming half the bus it used to be. Kudos to the stunt team for making the most out of its usage.
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Honda CRF 250 R – SKYFALL – I opted for the motorcycle over the DB5 for this film because of two things. 1) It’s actually involved in a chase action scene and 2) I’ve already used the DB5 from Goldfinger so I’m using something else here. The motorcycle is involved in a nice chase scene around, in, and atop the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul, Turkey. But I don’t find it quite as memorable as some of its larger counterparts just a little higher on my list.
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Montesa Cota 4RT – QUANTUM OF SOLACE – Instead of going with the Aston Martin DBS which I used for Casino Royale, I opted for this film’s motorcycle. There really isn’t any defining vehicle Bond drives in this film as he operates six(!) of them. The DBS is the only one that is involved in a chase, but as I mentioned previously, I’d already used it in CR. Three other vehicles involve tailing the baddies and two have a dramatic scene in or around them. But of those, only the motorcycle has a tailing scene AND a stunt so it gets the nod. Other than that, not much to note.
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1961 Chevrolet C-30 Apache – FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE – Much as I’d like to include Bond’s 1938 Bentley 4 1/4 Litre personal car, I just can’t do it as it’s only briefly seen in the film and it doesn’t even move. So the Chevrolet pickup it is. At least it is involved in what COULD be described as a mini-chase with the helicopter.
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1965 Lincoln Continental – THUNDERBALL – Again, I did not opt for the DB5 as I used it in Goldfinger. There isn’t much alternatives here though as the Lincoln is the only other car Bond drives in the film. It looks ok, but it doesn’t really do anything other than pull in to Emilio Largo’s Palmyra estate. Though in its defense, the DB5 didn’t really do much either other than fire water out of its tailpipes.
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Shuttle car – MOONRAKER – The only vehicle Bond drives in Moonraker is this shuttle car under a pyramid in South America. Probably the least glamorous vehicle of the series.
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YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE – The only film where Bond did not drive a car.
In short, when it comes to vehicles, I personally seem to value gadgets and how they are used in chases. Looks/style also help. If you are missing a couple of these things, then you are likely toward the bottom of my list.
But enough about me. What are your James Bond land vehicle rankings?
