Bond, James Bond the most famous self-introduction of any character in the history of cinema evokes images of beautiful women, fast cars, and gadgets from the Q division.
Fast cars are an integral part of any Bond film, with audiences from around the globe eager to see the latest model from Aston Martin, Ford, Jaguar, and BMW performing incredible chase scenes that just wouldn't occur in the real world. Bond movies are about indulging gearheads fantasy for speed, carmakers just see the film series as another marketing avenue.
No action film would be complete without a shady criminal organization, these villains are well funded and equipped often driving some awesome cars of their own.
10 Jaguar XKR - Zao/Die Another Day
Movie lovers are accustomed to seeing the world's most famous secret agent driving tricked out cars, but Die Another Day, screened in 2002, witnessed a balance shift between the good and the bad. In all the previous 007 installments Bond has the upper hand when it comes to modified cars. This time, his Nemesis Zao had his own specially adapted vehicle.
Easily matching Bond's Aston Martin, Zao's XKR8 featuring multiple weapons systems including rockets, Gatling gun, and mortars exchanges fire across the ice fields before the movie's final scene set in Graves' ice palace. Among the cars provided by Jaguar, half were standard 4.2-liter V8 supercharged XKRs, the rest were specially adapted to run Ford Explorer-based all-wheel drive.
9 Ferrari 355GTS - Xenia Onatopp/Goldeneye
Every movie has a little fiction in its makeup, what else could explain how Bond manages to successfully race against Ferrari's faster and more agile F355. The first action sequences for the 1995 release of Goldeneye has Bond racing against deadly Russian assassin Xenia Onatopp, his dated DB5 against a modern Ferrari Supercar, in reality, it would be no contest.
Desperate to recover some lost ground, the F355 launched in 1994 combined a cleaner Pininfarina body with a more powerful 3.5-liter V8 engine. Power gains from a small increase in capacity and the adoption of new cylinder heads featuring 5-valves per cylinder resulted in 375hp.
8 AMC Matador - Francisco Scaramanga/The Man with The Golden Gun
With every Bond movie comes certain expectations, movie fans craving more wow factor leading to more outrageous plots and stunts, The Man With The Golden Gun didn't have the best plot but certainly delivered the action. Undoubtedly the most famous scene is when Scaramanga makes his escape in a flying car.
Released in 1974, long before modern CGI, the producers instead built a functional and flying AMC Matador coupe, albeit one that could only manage a short flight of 500 meters, longer sequences used a scale model.
7 Rolls-Royce Phantom III - Auric Goldfinger/Goldfinger
Simple storylines make the best Bond films, Goldfinger remains one of the most popular 007 films of all time based purely on one man's greed and craving for gold. The main protagonist, Auric Goldfinger, is involved in gold smuggling and uses a modified car to carry quantities of gold across borders undetected.
A modified Rolls-Royce Phantom III serves as a vehicle of choice for smuggling, the gold itself hidden in secret compartments, the remaining bullion is melted down to form the car's body. Would this plan work in the real world? Probably not, Phantom III's are big luxury cars weighing as much as 7700lbs in four-door sedan spec.
6 Mercedes W100 600 Grosser - Blofeld/Diamonds Are Forever
The plot for Diamonds Are Forever all seems a bit too far-fetched, diamond smuggling, kidnapping all in the name of world domination using a diamond laser satellite. Crucially the film reunited Bond and his greatest adversary, Ernst Stavros Blofeld, the best villain in film history who just happens to be a Mercedes 600 Grosser owner.
Inadvertently, Mercedes has built the perfect limousine for anyone of a nervous disposition. The Grosser 600 was built using the thickest gauge steel of any car, giving it a tank-like build quality. Not surprisingly, most are possessed by world leaders. Over an 18-year period, Mercedes produced 2,677 cars, 41 of which were equipped with an optional armor plate.
5 Ford Fairlane Skyliner - Count Lippe/Thunderball
Bond's fourth screen outing, Thunderball, remains on top of the list among fans, once again SPECTRE stepping up to hold the world to ransom under threat of nuclear attack. Bond's biggest movie to date, with a complex plot that encompassed several villains, one of which, Count Lippe, having failed to dispose of Bond, met his end at the wheel of a 1957 Ford Fairlane Skyliner.
Folding hardtops are not a new idea, Ford's 1957 Fairlane Skyliner the second car in history to use the concept nailed it perfectly. What carmakers achieve with hydraulics now Ford made happen with motors, switches, relays, and lifts the whole process despite being hugely complex proving very highly reliable.
4 Jaguar C-X75 - Mr. Hinx/Spectre
Marking the return of global terrorist organization SPECTRE in 2015, the third film featuring Ernst Stavros Blofeld's original criminal organization also gave gearheads their first glimpse of the C-X75. Giving chase in the C-X75 Spectre, assassin Mr. Hinx ultimately loses Bond during a frantic pursuit on the streets of Rome.
What should have been the most advanced production Jaguar car ever created stopped short at three prototypes as a victim of the global economy? Developed over a 2-year period the PHEV powertrain uses a 1.6-liter twin-charged engine that produced a combined output of 850hp, resulting in an estimated maximum speed of 220mph for the C-X75.
3 Maserati 425i Biturbo - Franz Sanchez/A Licence To Kill
First released in 1989, A Licence To Kill gives viewers their first glimpse of a darker Bond, more in tune with the writer's original vision of the secret agent. No complicated conspiracy this time, instead, the producers pitted Bond out for revenge against drug lord Franz Sanchez. Serving almost as a reboot for the movie series, A Licence To Kill gets rid of most of the gadgets, Bond doesn't even get his usual Q car, Sanchez on the other hand fares much better with a cool Maserati.
Maserati ownership doesn't come without its risks, Biturbo models in particular generate a lot of negative feedback among owners. Ignoring the potential pitfalls, ownership can be a rewarding experience, Maserati-built 2.5-liter turbocharged engines are proven reliable when they are properly maintained, later cars produce up to 200hp.
2 Alfa Romeo 159 - "Quantum"/Quantum Of Solace
Opening sequences are a trademark Bond film feature often setting the tone for the following two hours, in this regard Quantum Of Solace sets things up nicely with a car chase. Often regarded as free publicity for Aston Martin, this time Bond coming off a little worse at the mercy of Quantum goons driving Alfa Romeo's svelte 159 sedans.
The attention-grabbing styling separates the Alfa Romeo 159 from other sedans, creating a sense of occasion that is hard to describe. For most gearheads, the simplest way to understand would be to fire up the 3.2-liter V6 engine and hit the open roads to enjoy the 256hp available in one of the best handling chassis in its class.
1 Ford Mustang Convertible - Fiona Volpe/Thunderball
Hugely successful at the box office, with receipts totaling $141 million, Thunderball comfortably beat all the previous Bond films. Undeniably, the main characters played an important role in the success of Thunderball, it would be easy to forget some of the smaller roles. Every good criminal organization needs its villains, or in the case of Fiona Volpe villainess. The assassin has an early appearance at the wheel of a 1965 Mustang convertible.
Ford's longest-serving model, the Mustang, has been in production since 1964, selling over 10 million cars since then. First-generation Mustangs quickly becoming known as "pony" cars concerning the wild horse emblem, in the process creating a new niche for medium size performance cars.