One of the first things people ask when there's a new Bond movie is, "What car does James Bond drive?" It's almost impossible to name every car that appears in the Bond film franchise, but there are well over 100 different models that have been used—whether they're driven by Bond, a villain, or a chauffeur, or stolen and used in chase scenes (by the good guys and the bad guys). To make it easier, there are a little more than 20 different vehicles widely considered the James Bond movie cars, meaning they are the automobiles mainly driven by Bond in the films. The most famous car associated with 007 is the Aston Martin. It doesn't appear in as many films as most people think, but it's certainly the one most fans love best.
There are a few James Bond vehicles in the novels, but certainly not as many as in the movies. The movies needed stunning visuals, so they are full of flashy cars driving off cliffs and bridges, tearing through the streets in high-speed car chases, performing death-defying stunts, firing missiles and lasers from guns mounted in the front of the car and the hubcaps, and even turning into underwater vehicles. It's only the best for the world's greatest fictional spy. These vehicles are usually made especially for James Bond and are cost prohibitive for even die-hard collectors, but sometimes they have limited editions made especially for Bond fans, such as the Aston Martin DB9 GT Bond Edition that was created to celebrate the release of Spectre (2005).
Let's face it: James Bond wouldn't be so cool without his cars. They may not always survive the story, but Bond always does. Here is a list of James Bond cars in order of appearance in the films, from the first James Bond car to the most recent one, plus a look at a few of the cars that appeared in the novels, starting with the original James Bond car. (Spoiler: It's not an Aston Martin.)
Bond cars, as featured in the film adaptations
1962 Sunbeam Alpine Series II in Dr. No
This was the first James Bond movie, so this counts as the first James Bond car in a film. Bond drives a light blue edition around, and it is later used in a car chase. (But honestly, almost all the Bond cars are used in car chases.)
1935 Bentley Mark IV Drophead 3.5 Litre in From Russia with Love
This green convertible is the oldest James Bond car to appear in the films. Early on in the movie, Bond takes the car on a picnic with Sylvia Trench, and later puts the top up for some private time with his date.
1964 Aston Martin DB5 in Goldfinger, Thunderball, Goldeneye, Tomorrow Never Dies, Casino Royale, and Skyfall
This is the Aston Martin that appears in the most James Bond movies, first in the 1960s with Sean Connery, then in the 1990s with Pierce Brosnan, and finally again in the 2000s with Daniel Craig. The James Bond Aston Martin DB5 is the Goldfinger car with all the tricked-out gadgets, such as machine guns, bumper rams, and an ejector seat. (One of the original Aston Martin DB5's from Goldfinger was eventually auctioned for more than $2 million!)
The Aston Martin DB5 received the addition of rear water cannons in Thunderball. When it was brought back as the car in Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies with Pierce Brosnan, it had updated technology, such as a printer, plus a champagne cooler in the center console. The Aston Martin DB5 made two more appearances in the Daniel Craig films, after Bond won it in a game of poker in Casino Royale. But this version is a right-hand drive as opposed to the left-hand drive of the previous movies. It is destroyed by machine gun fire in Skyfall. These days, an Aston Martin DB5 is valued at close to $1 million, and the Aston Martin DB5s that appeared in James Bond movies have sold for as much as $6.4 million.
1967 Toyota 2000 GT in You Only Live Twice
Only 351 models of this Japanese supercar were produced, and the version Sean Connery's Bond drove around Japan was modified from a hardtop to a convertible, mostly to accommodate the actor's height.
1968 Aston Martin DBS in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
This car had a couple of firsts: It appeared in the first and only film where Bond was portrayed by George Lazenby, and at the end of the film, Bond, who is married for the first time, loses his wife when she is fatally shot through the car's windscreen.
1969 Mercury Cougar XR-7 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
When Bond is separated from his beloved Aston Martin, his soon-to-be ill-fated wife Tracy Di Vicenzo drives him around the icy roads of Piz Gloria and helps him outrun the bad guys in this sporty red car.
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 in Diamonds Are Forever
Sean Connery returns to the role of Bond and makes a splash—and a crash—in Las Vegas in this sporty red hotrod.
1974 AMC Hornet X Hatchback in The Man with the Golden Gun
Bond rescues the kidnapped field agent Mary Goodnight in Bangkok by stealing this car right from the showroom, driving it through the plate glass window. After a high-speed chase, Bond takes the car on a legendary barrel roll jump across a collapsed bridge.
1976 Lotus Esprit S1 in The Spy Who Loved Me
This wasn't just a stunning silver sports car on the road. Later in the film, while being chased by the bad guys, Bond drives the sporty Lotus Esprit S1 into a lake, where it turns into a miniature submarine.
1981 Lotus Essex Esprit Turbo in For Your Eyes Only
Riding the high of the previous appearance of a Lotus Esprit, the car manufacturer made a return with a snazzier model. How do you beat a submarine car? The Lotus Esprit Turbo has a self-destruct feature that is triggered when the bad guys get close.
1981 Citroën 2CV in For Your Eyes Only
This yellow vehicle belongs to Melina Havelock, and Bond must rely on it for escapes and chases after his aforementioned Lotus Esprit Turbo explodes.
1983 Bajaj RE in Octopussy
This is less a car and more a three-wheeled auto-rickshaw. Tricked out by Q, the Baja RE is used by Bond in a chase scene, as his passenger fights off the bad guys with a tennis racket.
1985 Renault Taxi in A View To a Kill
Bond commandeers this blue car to chase villain May Day across Paris after she parachutes off the top of the Eiffel Tower.
1962 Rolls Royce Silver Cloud II in A View To a Kill
Bond almost loses his life in this gorgeous classic car (which actually belonged to producer Cubby Broccoli) after he is locked in the vehicle while he's unconscious. May Day then pushes it into a lake, but Bond survives. When he awakes, the resourceful 007 inhales air from the tires.
1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante in The Living Daylights
For Timothy Dalton's first appearance as Bond, the producers brought back the Aston Martin, along with its assorted gadgets and defense systems, including spiked hubcaps, missiles, lasers, and a self-destruct timer.
1995 BMW Z3 in Goldeneye
This is the first BMW featured in a Bond film, but it is merely used as a vehicle for Bond to get to the airport. Upon his arrival, 007 hands the Z3 off to another agent, with a stern warning not to play with any of its buttons.
1997 BMW 750iL in Tomorrow Never Dies
Fittingly, Bond drives this classy rental, which can be controlled remotely, in Germany. This BMW is not only bulletproof, but also has the power to emit tear gas and electric shocks. Bond eventually tricks the bad guys by remotely driving it across a rooftop and crashing it into a building below.
1999 BMW Z8 in The World Is Not Enough
This snazzy car is introduced to Bond by R, Q's new assistant. He uses the Z8's missile launcher to bring down a helicopter, which unfortunately destroys the car in the process.
1957 Ford Fairlane in Die Another Day
Bond kicks it old school in Havana in this borrowed vehicle, which he uses to drive to his hotel. The Ford Fairlane is never to be seen again in a Bond film, perhaps because extremely long vehicles don't make for great car chases.
2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish in Die Another Day
This Aston Martin comes with neat new gadgets, including an invisibility cloak which allows Bond to drive around undetected. Even cooler, the V12 Vanquish is the Bond car involved in the infamous elaborate seven-minute chase sequence.
2006 Aston Martin DBS V12 in Casino Royale and Quantum of Solace
This souped-up Aston Martin came back for Daniel Craig's first Bond films, and featured two hidden trays with a defibrillator and a Walther PPK with a silencer. In Casino Royale, the car performs an amazing seven flips. In Quantum of Solace, a darker version is featured in a high-speed chase on a mountain road, resulting in the door being ripped from its hinges.
2014 Aston Martin DB10 in Spectre
Aston Martin created this car, and released a limited 150 of the DB9 model for sale, to celebrate 50 years of Aston Martins in Bond films. It features a rear-facing double-barrel machine gun and flamethrower, and an ejector seat. (Sadly, these options were not available for the public.) Bond drives it around Rome. Following a tense chase, Bond safely ejects from the car and crashes it in a river.
Bond cars featured in Ian Fleming’s novels
4.5 Litre Blower Bentley in Casino Royale, Live and Let Die, and Moonraker
Technically, this Bentley is the original James Bond car. Versions of the vehicle from the 1930s appear in three of Fleming's Bond novels. In Casino Royale, he crashes the car in France, but he has it fixed and uses it again in Live and Let Die, only to crash it for the last time at the end of Moonraker.
Aston Martin DB Mark III in Goldfinger
This is the first appearance of an Aston Martin in a James Bond story. It is the only Bond car in the novels to have spy gadgets included, and it is featured in a famous golf course chase.
Peugeot 403 in A View to a Kill
Bond borrows this car from Marie Ann Russell to get around France.
Bentley Mark II Continental in Thunderball
Bond calls this Bentley "the locomotive" and puts it to the test in a race against the Contessa Teresa di Vicenzo's Lancia Flaminia Spyder towards the beginning of the book.
Ford Thunderbird in The Spy Who Loved Me
This is the only Ford in the James Bond canon. Bond rents the Thunderbird in the novel specifically for the purpose of driving it from Toronto to Washington.
Mercedes-Benz W112 in On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Although Bond himself never drives a Mercedes, in this novel he is pursued around Switzerland by a Benz full of Blofeld's henchmen.
