James Bond belongs in an Aston Martin. We think Goldeneye's 1964 DB5 is the best movie car in history. But when Eon Productions selected Roger Moore to play 007, they were careful to differentiate him from Sean Connery's character: Moore's Bond drank scotch instead of martinis, smoked cigars instead of cigarettes, and drove a Lotus instead of an Aston Martin. This choice did give us the iconic car that turns into a submarine in The Spy Who Loved Me. But when Timothy Dalton succeeded Roger Moore, it was high time to put Bond back in an Aston Martin.

The Living Daylight's 1987 Vantage Volante reunited 007 with his favorite bespoke British supercar marque.

Which Aston Martin Model?

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

Aston Martin had been building their cars with V8s since the 1969 DBS. In 1972, the company gave the DBS a makeover with a new grille and classy two-headlight style. At the same time, they renamed the DBSV8 as the Aston Martin V8. They sold the Aston Martin V8 as both a coupe and a convertible (named the Volante). In 1977, the company unveiled the Aston Martin V8 Vantage edition; with a reworked engine and 170 mph top speed, it was the first British supercar.

The car company brass was very excited to have James Bond return to the marque for 1987's The Living Daylights. They were so excited that Chairman Victor Gauntlett lent Bond his personal, "preproduction Vantage Volante." This car did not have the Vantage body modification that later Vantage Volantes would, just the hotrod Vantage engine. Aston Martin wanted the film to help publicize the launch of their upcoming Vantage Volante convertible.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

007 drove the sporty convertible around the British countryside. But the script also called for Bond to go to Czechoslovakia, then escape over the border to Austria in a specially-equipped coupe. They added a line for Q to tell Bond he's "winterized" the car by installing a roof. Aston Martin provided Eon Productions three V8 hardtops for the Czechoslovakia and Austria scenes. The filmmakers fitted these hardtops with Volante Vantage badges but left the different grills and narrower bodies of these base-models stock. Learn more about the car on Aston Martins.com.

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007 In The Alps

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: JamesBondLifestyle

During The Living Daylights film, Bond picks up gorgeous agent Kara Milovy and attempts to smuggle her across the border from soviet-controlled Czechoslovakia into Austria. She is a musician and insists they return to pick up her Cello. As they finally drive into the mountains above Bratislava, we see the car's first gadget: James Bond fiddles with the radio and picks up the police band. Milovy is surprised, but 007 blames "atmospheric interference."

When the police catch up with the pair, James Bond discretely activates lasers hidden in his hubs and slices the police car off its frame. When the officers hit the brakes and their cruiser falls apart, he tells Milovy it must be salt corrosion. Then, when police begin to shoot at the back of the bulletproof car, Bond wisecracks about how marvelous modern safety glass has become.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

Then the police and the Soviet military use a tractor-trailer to create a roadblock. When Bond turns on his heads-up display to target the two missiles hidden beneath his fog lights--destroying the roadblock--Milovy knows something is up. He tells her he's had "extras" installed.

Fleeing from the military, Bond turns up a dead-end road and must drive out on lake ice. Pursuing tanks shoot out one front tire, and the quick-thinking secret agent uses the bare rim to cut through the ice: trapping and sinking a pursuing police car.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

Bond uses this car's most famous gadget, ski/skate "outriggers," to get his three-tiered vehicle going again. He activates "tire spikes" to outrun the baddies on the ice. Finally, he lights up a rocket engine (hidden behind the rear license plate) for the burst of speed needed to jump clear over a Soviet dam and escape down the Austrian side of the Alps.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

Unfortunately, the outriggers break off, and the snow swallows up the Aston Martin V8. Agent 007 activates the car's self-destruct mechanism to buy time. Then he and Milovy sled down the mountain and into Vienna on her cello case. You can see the entire chase on youtube. Or check out 10 awesome Bond cars.

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Filming The Living Daylights

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: JamesBondBulletin

Eon Productions shot the incredible car chase in Weissensee, southern Austria. In addition to the thee Aston Martin V8s, the film crew built seven fiberglass replicas. The car destroyed by the self-destruct explosion was a fiberglass replica.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: PBS

Chris Corbould has masterminded special effects for an incredible fifteen 007 films, including the upcoming No Time To Die. He recalls that many days in Austria were thirty-degrees below zero. For the Aston Martin's final rocket-powered escape over the Soviet dam, he planned to propel it with compressed air. But the day of the big stunt was so cold that the air tank valves all stuck, the air leaked out slowly, and the car missed its jump.

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: 007.com

Corbould apologized profusely to famed Bond producer Cubby Broccoli and said his team needed another day. They stayed on set late, coming up with ways to heat and insulate the compressed air valves. When they finally got back to the hotel, they found Cubby had generously told the bar he was paying for their drinks that night. The next day the jump worked on the first take. Corbould would use compressed air again to flip the DBS in Casino Royale seven times, setting the record for on-camera barrel roles. Read Corbould's story on 007.com.

RELATED: This Is The Best James Bond Car So Far

No Time To Die

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond The Living Daylights
Via: Eon Productions

We hated to see one of our favorite Bond cars destroyed in The Living Daylights. Naturally, we were thrilled when Eon Productions revealed Daniel Craig would drive an Aston Martin Vantage V8 in the upcoming No Time To Die. Casino Royale put Craig's James Bond behind the wheel of a 1964 DB5, paying homage to Thunderball. Skyfall revealed this DB5 had some Connery-era gadgets. Will Craig's V8 be a stock tribute or the same Q-branch project that Dalton drove?

A detailed look at this Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante from James Bond No Time To Die
Via: Eon Productions

Craig's 1987 Aston Martin features the same license plate--B549 WUU--as the Living Daylights V8. We know his car will be equal parts of power and class, with enough cargo room for a Cello. But will it have outriggers? We'll need to watch the movie to find out.

Sources: 007.com, AstonMartin.com

NEXT: A Detailed Look At The Aston Martin DB5 From James Bond