---
title: "Our Seven Favorite Bond Cars"
description: "Beyond the obvious Astons, there is a wealth of irresistible spy-metal."
date: "2015-09-23"
modified: "2015-09-23"
authors:
  - name: "Ben Keeshin"
    link: "https://www.thedrive.com/authors/ben-keeshin"
url: "https://www.thedrive.com/article/288/our-seven-favorite-bond-cars"
categories:
  - "Culture"
  - "News"
tags:
  - "Roundup"
---

# Our Seven Favorite Bond Cars

![](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/images-by-url-td/content/archive-images/bondcars_tn_800.jpg>)
*\<em\>www.thedrive.com</em>*

![Lotus Esprit S1; The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_lotusesprits1.jpg>)
*The first series Esprit was famously beautiful and light, and infamously slow. Despite this, Bond managed to maintain enough distance between himself and pursuers to transform his Lotus—in midair!—into a submersible. In 2013, Tesla Motors CEO Elon Musk bought one of the original film cars for a grand $866,000 and reportedly is turning it into a *true* transformer., *Oli Scarff/Getty Images**

![Aston Martin V8 Volante; The Living Daylights (1987)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_astonmartinv8volante.jpg>)
*Despite a real-life 146-mph top speed, the producers of *The Living Daylights* thought Aston’s burly V8 Volante needed more. So they added twin missile-launchers, a rocket launcher and retractable outriggers. Then, they popped a driver up front and sent the car skidding across a lake in Weissensee, Austria, where—it’s worth noting—it did not fall through the ice., *Tim Graham/Getty Images**

![1969 Mercury Cougar XR7; On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_mercurycougarxr7.jpg>)
*Maybe it was just a ploy to woo American audiences, but Bond has made liberal use of our country’s muscle cars. Our favorite is the mighty Mercury Cougar XR7, which Diana Rigg drove through *On Her Majesty’s Secret Service*. The car’s 335-horsepower V8 assured she stayed ahead of the baddies and sounded glorious in the process., *Wikimedia Commons**

![Aston Martin DB5; Goldfinger (1964)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_astonmartindb5.jpg>)
*Though not the first car Bond drove on screen—that honor goes to a humble Sunbeam Alpine—the Aston Martin DB5 became 007’s most famous chariot because it perfectly embodied his best qualities: handsome, crisp, British and with enough hustle and firepower to overcome any situation, no matter how daunting., *Heritage Images/Getty**

![Land Rover Defender Pickup; Skyfall (2012)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_landroverdefender.jpg>)
*Not glamorous, but wickedly cool. This pickup body style is utilitarian, but in *Skyfall*, Naomie Harris used it strictly as a chase vehicle. Through the power of movie magic, or perhaps Harris’ stellar driving, the Rover kept up with an Audi A5, which it eventually rammed into a fruit stall. That part’s useful., *Commons**

![BMW 750iL; Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_bmw750il.jpg>)
*We love a V12. Bond’s remote-controlled super-sedan helped him evade capture by villains in a parking garage before eventually committing suicide off that same garage’s roof. Like a good body guard, Bond’s BMW gave its life so that the client would be safe., *MGM/UA Distribution**

![Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II; A View to Kill (1985)](<https://www.thedrive.com/wp-content/uploads/content/archive-images/bondcars_ss_rollsroycesilvercloudii.jpg>)
*Charmingly, the particular Rolls was owned by producer Albert “Cubby” Broccoli, who lent his car to the production after director John Glen’s many requests. The car was returned without a scratch—perhaps the first such instance in the franchise’s history., *SSPL/Getty Images**

## Author
Ben Keeshin is a former staff writer for Maxim, and before that, contributed writing to the digital sides of Road & Track and Vanity Fair.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://twitter.com/BnKshn>)