50 Greatest James Bond Cars

SUNBEAM APLINE
Bond hires a sleek Sunbeam Alpine to get around in Jamaica. What the Series II lacks in Q Branch extras, it more than makes up for in speed and sporting style.

FOR HIS FIRST cinematic car chase, 007 relies on his superior driving skills and the lively handling of his rented lake blue Series II Sunbeam Alpine convertible. Chased along Jamaica s cliff roads by Dr. No s assassins, Bond easily outdrives the Three Blind Mice  who are pursuing him appropriately enough in a hearse.

Produced by Rootes Group between 1960 and 1963, the Series II Alpine featured an enlarged engine and revised rear suspension. It was replaced by the Series III in 1963. The vehicle used in Dr. No was borrowed from a Jamaican resident and was one of only a few sports cars on the island.

MOON BUGGY
Bond has driven some unusual vehicles, but none more so than the moon buggy of Diamonds Are Forever a machine based on the real-life lunar rover.

WHEN 007 NEEDS to escape from Willard Whyte s research laboratory (where Blofeld s satellite is being built) across the lunar-like landscape of the Nevada desert, the Bond filmmakers took NASA s newsworthy moon buggy vehicle as their inspiration. Bond s buggy shared certain features with the real lunar rover such as the large, all-terrain wheels but it was built for speed and cinematic appeal.

ASTON MARTIN DBS
Elegant and powerful, the 1968 Aston Martin DBS was the perfect car for a new Bond. Free of gadgets, it proved to be a memorable vehicle for George Lazenby s 007.

IN ON HER MAJESTY S SECRET SERVICE, Bond s car returned to being just that a car, with no additional gadgetry or weapons, except one standard sniper rifle. The DBS appears at the beginning of the film, when Bond meets his future wife Tracy, and in the film s final tragic scene, when he

Ben Robinson has been working with EON productions for over 15 years and has written extensively on film and television. As the editorial lead for the Eaglemoss Hero Collector line, Ben directs the team in developing pop-culture books featuring top brands from film and television. Ben and the Hero Collector creative team are based in London, England.

From back cover

50 legendary cars from 25 James Bond movies

The vehicles featured in this book were driven by - or pursued - the world's most celebrated spy. Stylish, fast, and especially equipped with state-of-the-art gadgets, each detailed graphic shows the key features that set them among the world's greatest cars.

With facts and figures plus their key scenes and stunts, these are the cars that made Bond history.