MORE BOND LAND ROVERS

Thanks to the appearances of that 1963 DB5 in the early 007 films, Bond and Aston Martin became synonymous. Some even argue that it was the films that put the British supercar on the map.

It isn’t until the 13th film outing of James Bond (Octopussy, 1983) that 007, played by Roger Moore for the sixth time, is featured in a Land Rover – on this occasion driving a Range Rover Classic convertible to tow a horse box containing his tiny Acrostar Jet (a kit aircraft that held the Guinness record as the world’s smallest jet aircraft built by the Bede Aircraft Corporation).

In the opening sequence of The Living Daylights (1987) an SAS Series III crashes off the Rock of Gibraltar and explodes, while later in the film Bond (played by Timothy Dalton) drives an armoured Series III in an escape sequence.

Tomorrow Never Dies (1997) sees villain Elliot Carver (played by Jonathan Pryce) pursue Bond (Pierce Brosnan) through the streets of Saigon in a Range Rover P38A.

In Casino Royale (2006) and Quantum of Solace (2008) Bond (played by Daniel Craig) drives a Range Rover Sport.

In Skyfall (2012) Bond (again played by Craig) doesn’t actually drive any Land Rovers himself, but a Defender, an L322 Range Rover and a Discovery 4 all put in appearances.

Finally, it isn’t just the Bigfoot Defender that appears in Spectre (2015), a film set in the snow and ice of the Austrian Alps. Evil Mr. Hinx also drives a Range Rover Sport, while British Intelligence sensibly opts for a Discovery Sport – we say sensibly because we reckon it is the best ice-driving Land Rover ever built.