The Best and Worst Bond Cars

Not all Bond cars are created equal.

James Bond is a film franchise that us Brits are sorely proud of. Known the world over for a variety of reasons; the gadgets, the ‘shaken not stirred’ catchphrase, the suave spy action and of course, the cars.

Like one of the pillars of the James Bond franchise, the cars (and other vehicles) have been historic focal points for pretty much all the James Bond films in some way and if they were to be removed, we would just have generic spy action films rather than the defined and characterised films we have known and loved for the past 60 years.

From the flawless DB5 to the awful Ford Mondeo, we’re here to share some of the best and worst cars witnessed throughout the JB timeline.

Worst: Aston Martin Vanquish – Die Another Day

Die Another Day is perhaps one of the goofiest Bond films to date, featuring face-morphing villains, excess CGI and a slew of gadgets that seem to be taken straight from Inspector Gadget himself.

The Aston Martin Vanquish, as beautiful as it may be, is kitted out with invisibility which takes the concept of Q Branch gadgetry from slick science fiction to goofy, childish invention, similar to what you would find in an episode of Adam West’s rendition of Batman.

Best: Lotus Esprit S1 – The Spy Who Loved Me

Ok, sure, it may be hypocritical to call the literal transforming submarine car cool but say that an invisible car is ridiculous but this was the 70s so The Spy Who Loved Me gets a free pass.

The white Esprit in this film has made an undeniable impression and is now one of the most famous connotations of James Bond. Minutes of sheer back-to-back tyre screeching and exhaust blaring chasing leads to the Esprit driving off the edge of a dock and into the water. Then, cinematic magin unfolds as the car transforms into a submarine, shoots down a helicopter, has an underwater battle and then drives back onto land on a beach! Amazing!

Worst: Ford Mondeo – Casino Royale

It’s bad enough that Daniel Craig had to face the criticism of being the new Bond with people saying his face was too craggy or that his build was too muscular or even that he didn’t have enough body hair! To make things worse, they had the new Bond drive a Ford Mondeo at the start of the film and boy, were they the most painful 30 seconds of the entire viewing.

We’re usually accustomed to Bond throwing the keys of his DB5 to a chauffeur, not a Mondeo. The whole thing was not only a poor fit for the character but also and obviously, a brazen product placement.

Best: Aston Martin V8 Vantage – The Living Daylights

What’s cooler than a V8 Vantage? A winterised V8 Vantage.

Known as “Britain’s first supercar” the V8 Vantage was already a very special car to the British public and seeing it on the silver screen made us only fall in love with it more. Beautiful from every angle, seeing the British pony car drift around in the snow was a sight not easily forgotten. Even harder to forget after seeing it with snow skis and rocket propulsion! Certainly one of the best looking Bond cars ever, rivalled only by the DB5.

Let us know some of your most loved and loathed Bond cars, in the comments!

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