The Definitive Guide to James Bond’s Coolest Car Gadgets
James Bond is the quintessential action hero and both the original novels and the movies have captured the imagination of multiple generations of fans. As well as Bond’s good looks and his effortlessly cool charms, another major reason why fans are so excited for every new installment is to see the amazing cars and gadgets provided by Q. The cars, in particular, have become iconic vehicles, with some really incredible weapons and other technology which definitely doesn’t come as standard. With the upcoming movie, we thought we would take a look back at all the cars and gadgets that were ingeniously added to make for entertaining stunts.
Here is the definitive guide to James Bond’s coolest car gadgets.
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1. Early Missiles and Lasers in the Aston Martin DB5
Perhaps the most iconic of all Bond cars, the classic DB5 first featured in Goldfinger and went on to be seen in six other movies. It had a host of amazing gadgets from stinger missiles and laser guns to headlight guns and tyre slashers in the wheel hubs. The original silver Aston Martin DB5 from Goldfinger was sold to car collector and James Bond fan, Harry Yeaggy, for $4.6 million, complete with non-working guns that popped out of the headlights
2. 1976 Lotus Esprit with Submarine Function
The glamorous 1976 Lotus Esprit was given to Bond in the movie The Spy Who Loved Me, released the following year. Nicknamed “Wet Nellie”, Bond’s car was able to transform into a submarine, a feature which the actual Esprit sadly did not have. The car was actually built to be able to drive underwater but those who are inside had to wear wet suits and oxygen tanks in order to do so. As James Bond actor, Roger Moore, was a little too valuable to risk, the submarine was piloted during filming by former US Navy Seal, Don Griffin.
3. Aston Martin Vanquish with active Camouflage
For his fourth and final James Bond outing, Pierce Brosnan’s 007 was given a V12 Aston Martin Vanquish. Just the regular car would be cool enough for most people, but Bond’s Vanquish came with some amazing extras including rockets, machine guns, ejector seats, and most impressively, “adaptive camouflage” which essentially made the car invisible. The Vanquish only featured in Die Another Day but was seen in two spin-off James Bond video games.
4. Rear-Facing Flamethrower DB10
The reboot of the James Bond franchise with Daniel Craig in the titular role came along at the same time as a new generation of Aston Martins. The muscle-bound DBS which the muscle-bound Craig had driven in the first three movies of the reboot gave way to a sleeker, even more, impressive DB10. Appearing only in the movie, Spectre, Bond’s DB10 was fitted with a few helpful gadgets for the casual road user such as a rear-facing flamethrower and an ejector seat complete with a parachute.
Bond’s cars complete with their useful gadgets may not be available to anyone other than 007, but it is still exciting to watch him use them to take down the bad guys. From the iconic DB5 to the high-tech modern DBS, Bond has driven cars that most of us can only dream about. Even without the missiles, Bond’s cars are as much a part of the movies as a vodka martini, shaken not stirred.
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