Bond At 50: My Favourite Cars

 Of course I have to rank the cars from the films, the relationship between Bond and cars has been very beneficial to both parties down the years. He even managed to make an AMC Hornet and Citreon 2CV look quite cool.

5. Bentley 4.5 Litre VDP Tourer (From Russia With Love)
 This was a hard decision, as much as I love the Mustang, I just feel that it's not really assosciated enough with Bond, despite it's cameo in Diamonds Are Forever. Though this Bentley appeared for an even briefer moment in From Russia With Love, it's the manufacturer's long assosciation with James Bond in the novels that make this one and only appearance in the official franchise even more special. Despite only being the second movie, it has a rather nifty gadget itself in the form of a car phone.
                                       

4. BMW 750iL (Tomorrow Never Dies)
 Pierce Brosnan had a strong assosciation with BMW throughout his time as Bond including a Z3 and Z8, but it was this 7 series that really was a cut above the rest. Apart from being asthetically pleasing, it was packed with weapons, reinflating tyres and Bond was able to navigate it remotely from his mobile phone. The scene below shows it in action.

3. Aston Martin Volante (The Living Daylights)

 After an 18 year absent from the series, the Aston Martin finally returned in Timothy Dalton's first Bond film. It looks superb, espescially towards the end of the film as a hardtop coupe. It's also packed with the usual Bond weaponary as well as tyre cutting lasers, and tyre spikes for those icy conditions in a shed on the frozen lake. The car is involved with some great chase scenes, and I prefer to the "Vanquish" of Die Another Day, which I find over the top.

2. Lotus Espirit S1 (The Spy Who Loved Me) 
 Obviously a car that is able to travel underwater was going to feature on my list. I've always loved the look of the espirit, even when really young and I think they got it right using a white one. It's also well armed too, with surface to air, as well as forward facing missiles, which can operate underwater too. Again it's involved in a superb chase scene, where the cars performance stands out. I personally think it is the best equipped car Bond's ever driven, even if it is a bit outlandish.

 

1. Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger)

 Of course, the greatest Bond car of them all is Aston Martin Silver DB5 that first graced the silver screen in Goldfinger. It is possibly the most iconic car in movie history, even beating McQueen's Mustang from Bullit and the Batmobile. The 1964 version was the brainchild of special effects expert John Stears who created the "enhanced" model for the film. It did 0-60 in 7.1 seconds, revolving number plates, a bullet shield and front facing .30 caliber Browning machine guns. There was really always ever going to be one winner, it would be hard to find anyone who would say otherwise. An absolute feat of British engineering for the car itself and a trademark for Bond. The same car was used in Thunderball, and the same model has appeared in subsequent movies, though with different registration. In 2006's Casino Royale it appeared with Bahamian plates, as Bond won it in a poker game, it is set to re-appear with it's 1964 plates in this year's Skyfall. As for Aston Martin, they've benefitted greatly from the franchise, with many of their models being showcased through the films down the years. It would have plausible to just have a top 5 of Aston Martin's as they have all looked fantastic in the films, I didn't even mention the DBS'. The original '64 Goldfinger version was bought by Harry Yeaggy, an American in 2010, for £2.6m, worth every penny.