The cars of the James Bond films have become almost as iconic as the actors who play him. Seen in many films behind the wheel of an Aston Martin, Bond has also commandeered a number of other vehicles in the 60+ years of the franchise, offering a glimpse of what was on the road, or what was being brought into the market at the time of the film's release.

The first vehicle seen being driven by Bond himself, played by Sean Connery in 1962's Dr. No, is a 1961 Sunbeam Alpine, driven through the Blue Mountains of Jamaica, unsuccessfully pursued by Dr. No's henchmen.

In 1967, You Only Live Twice saw Sean Connery as Bond travel to Japan, where he pilots a custom-built 1967 2000GT Roadster. One of just two examples ever produced, these 2000GTs were modified with open tops at Toyota's special Toyopet Service Centre in Tsunashima in order to accommodate Connery's large frame.

As the result of an unlikely partnership between the producers of The Man with the Golden Gun and American car manufacturer AMC, Roger Moore jumps a red 1974 AMC Hornet X Hatchback over the remains of a collapsed bridge in Thailand, corkscrewing over a river as he pursues the film's villain, who is driving an AMC Matador.

In 1977's The Spy Who Loved Me, Roger Moore piloted the futuristic 1976 Lotus Esprit S1 around the island of Sardinia, where he evades capture by turning his Q-branch modified Esprit into a submarine and using surface-to-air missiles to take out a pursuing helicopter. In 1981, Moore would drive the Esprit again in For Your Eyes Only.

1987's The Living Daylights starred Timothy Dalton, driving an Audi 200 Quattro sedan in Exclusiv trim with BBS wheels to escape KGB forces in Bratislava, Czechoslovakia, and later a 200 Avant Quattro wagon in Tangier, Morocco.

1995 would introduce BMW into the fold, with Pierce Brosnan introducing the all-new 1996 BMW Z3 roadster in Goldeneye, the first film of a three-picture deal with BMW.

The second Bond-BMW partnership film came in 1997's Tomorrow Never Dies with a 750iL outfitted by Q, where Brosnan operates the car and its defense systems from an Ericsson cell phone while lying down in the back seat to avoid being shot. Bond uses the E38's missile launchers, self reinflating tires, and spike traps before escaping and launching the car off of a parking garage into an Avis rental office.

The third and final BMW in the Bond films was used in The World is Not Enough, showcasing a Titanium Silver 1999 BMW Z8 roadster, similarly equipped to his 750iL with remote operation, and rockets in the fender vents. Unfortunately, the Z8 does not get much screen time before being cut in half by a helicopter with a large tree-cutting saw. Thankfully, the Z8 destroyed in the film was a prototype shell, and the original sits in the London Film Museum.

AUTHOR: DOEORDIE

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