James Bond: Dr. No to Quantum of Solace, Bentley to Aston Martin
http://www.theweeklydriver.com/articles/1321/1/James-Bond-Dr-No-to-Quantum-of-Solace-Bentley-to-Aston-Martin/Page1.html
By James Raia
Published on 11/17/2008
Since its debut in 1962 with the film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s book Dr. No, the James Bond movie series has included 22 major titles, all with an easily deciphered central theme that incorporates espionage, beautiful women, fine dining and fast cars. Aston Martin is the most remembered manufacturer in James Bond movies, and no one (maybe with the exception of Paul Newman) looks cooler driving than Sean Connery.
Since its debut in 1962 with the film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s book Dr. No, the James Bond movie series has included 22 major titles, all with an easily deciphered central theme that incorporates espionage, beautiful women, fine dining and fast cars. Aston Martin is the most remembered manufacturer in James Bond movies, and no one (maybe with the exception of Paul Newman) looks cooler driving than Sean Connery.Since its debut in 1962 with the film adaptation of Ian Fleming’s book Dr. No, the James Bond movie series has included 22 major titles, all with an easily deciphered central theme that incorporates espionage, beautiful women, fine dining and fast cars. Aston Martin is the most remembered manufacturer in James Bond movies, and no one (maybe with the exception of Paul Newman) looks cooler driving than Sean Connery.
Aston Martin, particularly the DB5, is featured in five James Bond films, beginning with Goldfinger. The Aston Martin DBS V12 is featured in the current Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and driven by Daniel Craig.
But James Bond, portrayed by actors varying from David Niven to Timothy Dalton to Pierce Brosnan have driven numerous luxury cars, some specially equipped with high-tech spy gadgets, others not.
Contrary to the films, in which a Bentley called a “Mark IV” is prominent (it’s not really a Bentley offering), James Bond's official car in the Ian Fleming novels was a grey 1933 Bentley convertible. The car featured a 4.5 L engine with the Amherst-Villiers supercharger.
The novel version of the Bentley Mark IV was destroyed during a chase sequence in Moonraker. The Bentley is also the first Bond vehicle seen in the film series, although it was shown briefly during Bond's first scene in From Russia with Love and mentioned in passing in Goldfinger.
In From Russia with Love, the only gadget known to be included was a car phone, which in 1963 was very uncommon. The film version of Goldfinger strongly implies the Bentley was issued to Bond by associate Q-Branch. When he asks Q about the vehicle, Bond is told it "had its day" and he’s given the Aston Martin instead.
James Bond's cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, V8 Vantage (80s), V12 Vanquish and DBS (00s); the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in Goldfinger. It’s later featured in Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale.
Through the years, several Aston Martin DB5s have been for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 to an unnamed European collector. It originally sold for less than $10,000 in 1970.
Aston Martin, particularly the DB5, is featured in five James Bond films, beginning with Goldfinger. The Aston Martin DBS V12 is featured in the current Bond film, Quantum of Solace, and driven by Daniel Craig.
But James Bond, portrayed by actors varying from David Niven to Timothy Dalton to Pierce Brosnan have driven numerous luxury cars, some specially equipped with high-tech spy gadgets, others not.
Contrary to the films, in which a Bentley called a “Mark IV” is prominent (it’s not really a Bentley offering), James Bond's official car in the Ian Fleming novels was a grey 1933 Bentley convertible. The car featured a 4.5 L engine with the Amherst-Villiers supercharger.
The novel version of the Bentley Mark IV was destroyed during a chase sequence in Moonraker. The Bentley is also the first Bond vehicle seen in the film series, although it was shown briefly during Bond's first scene in From Russia with Love and mentioned in passing in Goldfinger.
In From Russia with Love, the only gadget known to be included was a car phone, which in 1963 was very uncommon. The film version of Goldfinger strongly implies the Bentley was issued to Bond by associate Q-Branch. When he asks Q about the vehicle, Bond is told it "had its day" and he’s given the Aston Martin instead.
James Bond's cars have included the Aston Martin DB5, V8 Vantage (80s), V12 Vanquish and DBS (00s); the Lotus Esprit; the BMW Z3, BMW 750iL and the BMW Z8. Bond's most famous car is the silver grey Aston Martin DB5, first seen in Goldfinger. It’s later featured in Thunderball, GoldenEye, Tomorrow Never Dies and Casino Royale.
Through the years, several Aston Martin DB5s have been for filming and publicity, one of which was sold in January 2006 at an auction in Arizona for $2,090,000 to an unnamed European collector. It originally sold for less than $10,000 in 1970.
Text adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, and available under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL).