DID YOU KNOW?
WE LOOK AT SOME OF THE LESSER-KNOW FACTS RELATING TO FIVE OF THE CARS BOND DROVE WHICH DIDN’T WEAR AN ASTON BADGE
ROLLS-ROYCE SILVER CLOUD II THUNDERBALL, 1965, AND A VIEW TO A KILL, 1985
Aston Martins may have a habit of reappearing in Bond movies, but so does a certain Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. In 1965’s Thunderball, there’s an example parked outside the Shrublands Clinic where 007 is recuperating. Its registration ‘CUB 1’ gives the game away that it was producer Cubby Broccoli’s personal car, then very new. 20 years later, the car resurfaces in A View To A Kill, wearing fake plates, and ends up in a lake. Needless to say, it wasn’t actually Cubby’s car that performed this watery stunt.
FORD MUSTANG MACH 1 DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, 1971
The Las Vegas car chase finale sees Bond – in a Ford Mustang Mach 1 – drive on two wheels through a narrow alley. Several weeks after it was filmed, it was realised a shot was needed of the car exiting the passageway. This was done with a different stunt driver. It was only at the editing stage that it became obvious he’d done it on the wrong set of wheels. To get around it, an extra sequence was filmed in which Bond asks his companion, Tiffany Case, to lean in the opposite direction, prompting a law of physics-defying flip to the correct side.
AMC HORNET THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN, 1974
While an AMC Hornet X Hatchback wasn’t an obvious Bond car – Roger Moore’s 007 ‘borrows’ it in Bangkok - its 360-degree corkscrew stunt in The Man With The Golden Gun was spectacular. The parameters were computer-calculated at Cornell University and the Hornet was widened by two inches, with a hidden central driving position. It had to be weighted at exactly 1460.06kg and travelling at 47mph. The leap took one take, with stuntman Bumps Williard saying: ‘We are certainly not going to do it again. Not with me!’
CITROËN 2CV FOR YOUR EYES ONLY, 1981
The yellow Citroën 2CV of For Your Eyes Only was one of the more unlikely Bond machines, resorted to after the explosive end of 007’s Lotus Esprit Turbo. French stunt driver Remy Julienne used six examples, modified with reinforced suspension and roll cages, plus tuned four-cylinder GS engines that gave an extra 54bhp over the 29bhp of a standard 2CV. When the film came out, Citroën launched a ‘007’ limited edition model based on the Jaune Hélios 2CV6 Spécial, but finished in yellow with large 007 logos and fake bullethole stickers.
BENTLEY 4¼ LITRE GUTNEY NUTTING 3-POSITION DROPHEAD COUPÉ NEVER SAY NEVER AGAIN, 1983
Sean Connery returned to the role of
007 for the second time in 1983’s Never
Say Never Again, an unofficial rival to Octopussy. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it nod to Ian Fleming, who had his hero drive Bentleys in the books, Big Sean’s Bond has a 1937 Bentley 4¼ Litre Gurney Nutting 3-Position-Drophead Coupé. The car, chassis number B129JY, registration DYM 800, later featured in a couple of episodes of TV series Magnum PI.