Driving the best Bond cars ever! _ Top Gear

**The Ultimate Lineup: The Six Greatest James Bond Cars**

In celebration of the new James Bond film released at the beginning of April, we embarked on an unforgettable journey to gather the six most iconic Bond cars, one for each Bond actor, and drive them back-to-back. This article takes you through the entire lineup, from the rare and expensive DB10 to the legendary Aston Martin DB5, showcasing what makes each car special.

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### 1. **Daniel Craig's Aston Martin DB10**

Representing Daniel Craig, we have the Aston Martin DB10—a car so unique it was designed specifically for the film *Spectre*. Only ten DB10s were ever built, with just one sold to the public for nearly £2.5 million. What sets this car apart is its design: a modern incarnation of the classic DB5, created by director Sam Mendes and Aston Martin's design director, Marek Reitman. The DB10 features a carbon-fiber body, a modified V8 platform, a six-speed manual transmission, and a naturally aspirated 4.7-liter V8 engine producing around 500 horsepower.

But it’s not just about the performance; the DB10 is fully loaded with gadgets. It has an ejector seat that can launch both the driver and passenger into the air via parachutes. While the production car doesn’t have the actual flip switch for the ejector seat, it does come equipped with a hydraulic handbrake for some dramatic driving scenes. Perhaps its most memorable feature is the machine gun hidden in the badge at the back, which famously failed to fire during one scene, forcing Bond to resort to using a flamethrower from the exhaust pipe instead.

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### 2. **Pierce Brosnan's BMW Z8**

Next up is Pierce Brosnan's BMW Z8 from the 1999 film *The World Is Not Enough*. Designed by Henrik Fisker (the mind behind the Tesla Model S and Fisker Karma), this car is a retro-inspired masterpiece that has aged beautifully. The Z8’s powerful 5-liter V8 engine, borrowed from the E39 M5, delivers an impressive 400 horsepower and sounds as fantastic as it looks.

Despite its iconic status, the Z8 has a reputation for being tricky to handle, especially at the limit. However, when driven correctly, it’s a sheer joy on the road, with its retro touches—like the 12-spoke steering wheel and center-mounted instrument dials—adding to its charm. In the film, Bond used a remote-control mode to summon the car using his key fob, though its most memorable feature was its surface-to-air missiles, which could be fired from the front flanks to take down enemy helicopters.

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### 3. **Timothy Dalton's Aston Martin V8 Vantage**

For Timothy Dalton, we have the Aston Martin V8 Vantage, a brute of a car that first appeared in *The Living Daylights* in 1987. Known as Britain’s first supercar due to its top speed of 170 mph and 440 horsepower from its 5.3-liter V8 engine, the V8 Vantage is anything but for the faint-hearted. Its dogleg 5-speed manual gearbox and heavy steering make it a driver’s car.

In the film, Bond had the convertible version modified by Q Branch to include skis that emerged from the sides, spiked tires for wintry conditions, and even a rocket booster hidden behind the rear number plate for an extra burst of speed. The car also featured front-mounted missiles and laser beams in its bumper—a combination of features that continue to make it one of the most memorable Bond cars.

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### 4. **Roger Moore's Lotus Esprit S1**

Representing Roger Moore, we have the iconic Lotus Esprit S1 from *The Spy Who Loved Me*. Known affectionately as “Wet Nellie” for its ability to submerge underwater, this car is a marvel of engineering. It featured retractable wheel arches, four fins, and a periscope on the roof, allowing Moore to navigate underwater with ease.

On land, the Esprit was equipped with a cement sprayer behind the rear number plate—a comedic yet practical gadget for creating distractions. The car’s lightweight 2-liter engine produced only 160 horsepower, but its nimble handling and Lotus engineering made it an absolute joy to drive. With its green and orange tartan interior and pop-up headlights, the Esprit is widely regarded as one of the greatest car interiors ever designed.

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### 5. **George Lazenby's Aston Martin DBS**

For George Lazenby, we have the Aston Martin DBS from *On Her Majesty’s Secret Service*. Unlike its predecessors, the DBS had no gadgets to speak of—just a case for a sniper rifle in the glovebox and bulletproof glass that wasn’t even used in the film. Despite its lack of Bond-worthy features, the DBS is still a stunning car, with its squared-off front end and powerful 300 horsepower straight-six engine making it a standout.

Lazenby’s DBS is often overshadowed by other Bond cars, but its beauty and historical significance cannot be overlooked. It marked a new era for Aston Martin’s design and remains a beloved classic among car enthusiasts.

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### 6. **Sean Connery's Aston Martin DB5**

Finally, we have Sean Connery’s Aston Martin DB5—the most iconic Bond car of all time. The DB5 is where it all began, with its famous gadgets like the ejector seat, machine guns in the front indicators, and oil sprayer at the back. Originally designed for *Goldfinger*, the DB5 became a pop culture phenomenon, appearing in seven Bond films since.

The DB5’s 4-liter straight-six engine produced 282 horsepower, making it lively and sporty. Despite its age, the car remains a symbol of British engineering excellence and is often considered more famous than any of the actors who have played Bond.

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### The Future of Bond Cars

As we reflect on the legacy of these iconic cars, we also look to the future with excitement. The latest addition to the Bond fleet is the Aston Martin Valhalla—a hybrid hypercar producing around 1000 horsepower. This car represents the next chapter in Bond’s automotive journey and ensures that the franchise continues to push boundaries.

In conclusion, the six greatest Bond cars are more than just vehicles—they are symbols of style, innovation, and adventure. Each one has its own story, its own quirks, and its own place in cinematic history. Whether it’s the DB5’s timeless elegance or the DB10’s cutting-edge design, these cars have become as much a part of the Bond legacy as the actors themselves.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enyou've probably heard there's a new James Bond film out at the beginning of April we did so to celebrate we thought what the hell let's get together the six greatest Bond cars of all time one per Bond actor and drive them all back to back and what a lineup we have for you because representing team Sean Connery we have the Aston Martin db5 we have George Lazenby's DBS this is an age order of course how beautiful is that Roger Moore's Lotus Esprit s 1 Timothy Dalton's v8 Vantage Pierce Brosnan's BMW z8 and last but not least Daniel Craig's the v10 and because some of you with the snappers might not remember all the old stuff so well we'll start here with the newest the rarest and the most expensive car we have here yes only 10db tens were ever built for the 2015 film Spectre and only one was ever sold to the public this one for just under 2.5 million pounds best behavior then what makes this car really special isn't the price or the rarity or even the fact the Daniel Craig's butt cheeks have been on this very chair no it's the fact that this is the only bond car to be designed from scratch to feature in a Bond film and not go into production basically the director Sam Mendes of Spectre met up with Merrick reitman the design director Aston Martin and told him he wanted a new Bond poster car for a new generation of boys and girls that might be watching bond for the first time Merrick reitman read that as he wanted a modern incarnation of the db5 so something pure simple instantly attractive and this is the result and it looks absolutely sensational but there's nothing prototype about the way it drives that's because under this carbon-fiber body work is a modified platform from the old v8 Vantage it's got a wider track longer wheelbase a six-speed manual and the old 4.7 liter v8 producing around 500 horsepower this is the naturally aspirated v8 of course before Aston started using mercs twin turbo four-litre which is why it sounds well like this but of course this wouldn't be a bond car without some gadgets and the db10 is fully loaded it gets an ejector seat just like the db5 a two-stage process the first is a button that blows off the roof and the second is a little flip switch on the top of the gear lever that ejects to the driver and seat up into the air parachutes and down to safety somewhere away from the danger now this car doesn't actually have that flip switch on the gear lever but it does have one of these which is a hydraulic handbrake for flamboyant driving scene the perhaps the most memorable gadget on the Divi 10 is a machine gun that sticks out of the badge of the back you might remember inspector that Daniel Craig doesn't have any ammo when he wants to use it so he has to resort to flamethrowers from the exhaust pipe which you know do the trick and actually this car here has the machine gun toy attached machine guns as if it needs any introduction this is the BMW z8 designed by Henrik Fisker yep the bloke behind the Fisker Karma and more recently the Tesla chasing visca Ocean Evy it's a homage to the BMW 507 from the 50s weirdly for a car that was retro when it was launched 20 years ago it doesn't look terrible it's aged brilliantly in fact Honda masked and we're on a break when this appeared in the 1999 film the world is not enough and it's not bad is it for a rebound relationship zenite can go for as much as 200 grand these days but you can see why because it's still such a sweet car to drive especially that engine 5-liter v8 naturally aspirated 400 horsepower is the engine from the e39 m5 so you've got loads of torque and it sounds absolutely fantastic now this car has a bit of a reputation for being tricky should we say on the limit a little bit snatchy a product perhaps of a lack of development but when you drive it at 8/10 it's just an utter joy as are these overtly retro touches on the interior like this 12 spoke steering wheel and the fact that the instrument dials are in the middle of the dash not wait for you know actually reading them but looks damn cool I check this out back here there are car phones then there's this I like yeah can I speak to Moneypenny Cheers famous leaders na met its end when it was chopped in half by a circular saw dangling from a helicopter but before all that mess happened it had a chance to show off some of its tricks which included a remote-control mode so bond could summon it using the key fob not as cool as the 750il which drove using the screen on his phone but you know not bad the main selling point at the Zed 8 though was surface-to-air missiles which came out of the front flanks here and shot down a helicopter and you could aim those missiles with the control pad in the center of the wheel unfortunately this is a production car and it wasn't on the options list so yeah it's just a horn and we continued our journey back in time with this the Aston Martin v8 Vantage a brute of a car driven by Timothy Dalton in the 1987 film The Living Daylights now in its day this was known as Britain's first supercar because of its 170 mile an hour top speed and too at the end of its life we've received 440 horsepower from its 5.3 liter v8 now this is a slightly earlier car so it's got around 400 horsepower when you get the idea this is not a car for the faint-hearted it's got a dogleg 5-speed manual gearbox down here the steering is actually quite light but it feels big it feels heavy feels manly the good news is we're gonna see more of this car in the new film although how big a role it plays we just don't know what we do know is when this car first appears in the living daylights it's a convertible but after being sent to Q branch for a fettle it reappears with a fixed roof like this one all part of being winterized says cute and it's that winterization process that brought us some of the greatest bond bits we've ever seen including skis that emerged from the side of the car and spiked tires to give you some grip in wintry conditions and there's also a rocket booster hidden behind the rear number plate to give you that burst of speed when you really need it let's not forget this is the car that already has missiles in the front bumper and frickin laser beams that come out the wheel hubs to chop in half any buddies that are foolish enough to pull alongside for more than anything it just looks cool this car doesn't it I think at one weight okay now firstly apologies that I'm not presenting this part of the video from underwater first sir unfortunately our budget wouldn't stretch to a wetsuit so here back on dry land I'm driving what must be the best known on Aston Martin bond car of them all the mighty Lotus a spring I refer of course to the fact that the 1977 film The Spy Who Loved Me featured an Esprit affectionately known as wet Nellie with the submersible mode wheel arches four fins and a periscope on the roof so Roger Moore could see where he was going and the tricks didn't end there on the road it had a cement sprayer behind the rear number plate perfect for laying a new driveway in a hurry while underwater it had missiles mines and torpedoes and could do an excellent impression of a distressed octopus by dispersing a thick black dye into the water back in the real world this car is everything that Lotus stood for and still kind of stands for back there is teeny-tiny 2-liter four-cylinder engine producing just 160 horsepower which isn't very much is it but when the car weighs less than the thousand kilos will it's plenty famously cubby broccoli had to draft in Rod Rebecca who was lotuses chassis engineer to get this car to throw some shapes in one of the chase scenes because his stunt driver claimed it just grips too hard I can't make it look dramatic cubby and do you know what I know buddy means it might be an absolute featherweight lift coming away it speaks to the road it's just incredible it feels smooth sophisticated well engineered and that engine sounds a whole lot better than I thought it would but it feels so so special what about this interior probably the greatest car interior of all time you sit on what feels like a sort of deck chair position and the trim in here is amazing green and orange tartan you've got this instrument panel that just wraps around you with the greatest switch of them all pop-up headlights I'm just so grateful I've avenged Li got to drive this car I feel so privileged to be allowed to have a go in this and if I'm honest I'm quite grateful that hasn't broken down let's face it there was a whipping boy for this group this would be it the DBS it's got a straight six to the Vantage's v8 and it only appeared in one film alongside the Bond who only appeared in one film George Lazenby in on Her Majesty's Secret Service and get this it's got no gadgets I'll repeat that it's got no gadgets apart from I suppose a case for a sniper rifle in the glove box but frankly that's a bit pathetic and it gets worse in one scene is shown covered in flowers for bonds wedding to Tracy and in the final scene of the film Tracy is shot dead while sitting in the car proving it doesn't even have bulletproof glass outrageous right however though its bond credentials are weak this is still a beautiful car it was on sale in the late 60s it crossed over a bit with the db6 but this heralded a new more modern era for Aston Martin's design with its squared off front end and it's such a memorable driving experience for litre inline-six 300 horsepower sounds fantastic of course it feels so so special this car here has been fully restored so feels tight as a drum so as I said it's a special car the bond car unlike this this is the car that pops into your head when you hear the word bond a car that first starred alongside Sean Connery in the 1964 film Goldfinger and it appeared in seven other Bond films since including the new one no time to die icon is a word bandied around quite a lot these days mostly by me in this video to be fair but this car is just that isn't it it's a pop icon it's an automotive icon it's a movie icon is arguably more famous than any of the men that have played Bond and like Bond it's quintessentially British sporty but not showing off its luxurious but not vulgar it's like a vintage watch handcrafted in its jinan just gonna show off and go for Drive and we begin with the gadgets because the db5 is where it all started in fact to begin with this car only ever had a smoke screen but as members of the crew on Goldfinger kept coming up with increasingly good ideas well they kept adding them to the car so you got the bulletproof screen at the back you got the machine guns that came out the front indicators the spikes that came out the wheels the oil sprayer out the back and of course the ejector seat which featured both in Skyfall and Goldfinger and originally and you know what it's important this stuff because these are the kind of things that kids dream up and the db5 made them real so a four-litre straight-six 282 horsepower 5-speed manual it feels lively sporty even but sporty from an era when smoking 20 Lucky Strike was considered beneficial to you in tennis game it's not the fragile classic you might think but in goldeneye it hasn't even be matched ding-dong with a Ferrari 355 let's just say artistic license was used liberally in that scene more than anything though there's a sense with this car that if I crash it it's a perfectly original example worth over half a million quid my life wouldn't be worth living so I'm taking it easy today I'm in chill-out mode this is mark Higgins rally driver turned stunt driver and the man tasked with making bond look like a driving God on the big screen feeling that dv5 is an entirely stack Noorie mark why don't I get in I dive in tell you what that's a bit of a fruity entrance I think I have to put my belt on it's probably good idea actually I think so probably a sensible idea now this is an actual stunt car from no time to dies all right yeah this is one of the very ones we used there was a few and a few of them real nice little toy to be honest it does everything it should do it was great fun to drive on the film so I paired so this is second it looks perfect it looks like an actual db5 we keep mistaking it with the original one we got over there but this is a replica carbon-fiber body yeah plunked on top of a donor car can you tell us about what's underneath it no idea what that could be to be honest yeah I don't know you know what it's lucky you get it driving but you're rubbish yeah it sounds I don't know 6-cylinder German rear wheel drive to me but you know Who am I to say either way it's an amazing piece of kit it's great and the one of the great things about the car is it's so much lighter as well yeah and that makes a big difference on how you can actually drive it so here you can throw some shapes in this thing try without your question morality we can hear each other in it - sounds great development we've got a rubbish job everybody that's it then I've driven them all bucket-list ticked but the question remains which one would I take home it's got me the db5 isn't it it's got to be the db5 except I'm a little bit in love with this Lotus right here honestly it's the most surprising car I've driven in a long long time how can something as wedgy is that still be comfortable and refined it's witchcraft honestly I see to know what's on it I'm gonna have them both I'm a cop-out what can I say now there is one more car I want to show you it's over there and unfortunately it's the one I'm not allowed to drive the Aston Martin Valhalla if you need a reminder that's Aston Martin's roughly thousand horsepower million quid v6 hybrid hypercars the son of Valkyrie and it should be on sale around 2022 now that Aston Martin has secured some funding this car here is a movie hack so it's a vow Halla body placed on top of an undisclosed donor car the truth is we don't even know how big a role this is going to play in the new film no time to die we don't even know if James Bond actually drives it but I tell you what this is the future of Bond cars then the bloodlines in pretty safe hands you\n"