Every James Bond Car, Ranked

Sure, you know all about James Bond’s enduring affinity for Aston Martins and Lotuses that are just as lovely under water as they are on the road. And if you’re a hardcore aficionado, you likely know that 007’s first cars were actually old Bentleys, back in the days before Sean Connery gave a face to MI6’s top man.

It should go without saying that a scientific ranking of all of Bond’s cars is absolutely impossible—and besides that, it’s boring—so what follows is a thoroughly subjective list of every significant car that Bond drove, rode in, chased, or was chased by.

And, as all our rankings tend to be on this site, it is correct. 

39. Renault 11 Taxi

Movie:A View to a Kill
It’s a run-of-the-mill Parisian taxi that Bond commandeered at the foot of the Eiffel Tower to track down parachuting baddies. At one point, a simple barrier completely decapitates the car right at the beltline. Kind of pathetic. 

38. Citroen 2CV

Movie:For Your Eyes Only
Depending on how it’s optioned out, the 2CV has between nine and 29 hp. That’s not a typo. The car is so slow the movie crew had to resort to slowing down the film to make the car appear faster. In real life, Bond would die in this car. 

37. Ford Fairlane

Movie:Die Another Day
This gorgeous Fairlane is what passes for a fast car in Cuba. It has no gadgets, and is little more than transportation for James.

36. AEC Regent III

Movie:Live and Let Die
Weapons: None. Stories: Two. Any chase scene involving a double decker bus gets credit just for having a double decker bus, but there’s not much worse of a vehicle from a driving standpoint.

35. Fire Truck

Movie:A View to a Kill
Is it more maneuverable than a double decker bus? Yes, but not by all that much. A water canon, though? That’s helpful against baddies. 

34. Mini Moke

Movie: Multiple
The Mini Moke had no weapons or fancy Q gadgets, but it’s still an awesome vehicle for driving around on a Caribbean island.

33. BMW 520i

Book:Win, Lose or Die
This is what happens when M tells Bond to keep a low profile and use a car from the company pool. At least it was a Bimmer.

32. Bentley Mk VI

Book:Moonraker
Bond bought this Bentley for himself in the book version of Moonraker. It never saw any significant action, but it’s still a pretty fine automobile, isn’t it?

31. Bentley Mk II Continental

Book: Multiple
This might have looked like a normal Bentley, but it was kind of a hot rod, with a larger engine, plus a magnetic clutch-operated supercharger. Now we’re getting somewhere.

30. Panhard AML

Movie:The Living Daylights
The Panhard is basically a cannon on wheels that Bond used to chase a couple of dudes across a bridge. What it lacks in coolness it certainly makes up for in firepower.

29. Audi 200 Quattro

Movie:The Living Daylights
It’s kind of sad, in a way, that the 200 Quattro didn’t see more action other than one escape scene in the beginning of The Living Daylights.

28. Bentley Mulsanne Turbo

Book:Role of Honour
Are we the only ones who think a Bentley with a top-notch communications system and a hidden compartment full of weapons sounds completely plausible?

27. Ford Mondeo ST

Movie:Casino Royale
Ordinarily a simple car that was only in the movie for advertising purposes wouldn’t make the list, but this one was apparently hand-built by some of Ford’s top designers because the movie was filmed so far before the car officially debuted to the public.

26. BMW Z3

Movie:GoldenEye
This car had so much promise with stinger missiles and a host of Q’s other typical refinements. Instead, it barely even saw time on the screen.

25. Land Rover 88 Series III

Movie:The Living Daylights
Any chase scene or escape sequence featuring a vintage Land Rover only serves to reiterate how indestructible the vehicles are...unless it’s loaded down with munitions.

24. Mercedes 250 SE

Movie:Octopussy
No gadgets here, just a rock-solid, old Mercedes used to transport Soviet officers. How’s this for tough: Bond drove this car on railroad tracks after the tires were shredded. Normal week night.

23. 2002 Ford Thunderbird

Movie:Die Another Day
Okay, so maybe we’re thinking more about Halle Berry walking out of the water than what this car could actually do, but it’s still a pretty car, and Ford actually produced a limited run of James Bond Edition Thunderbirds in its honor.

22. Bentley 3.5 Liter

Movie:From Russia with Love
Bond’s first on-screen, Q-prepared car was more or less a classic by the time it was filmed; then again, it was only in one scene as a sort of homage to the books in which Bentley was featured prominently.

21. Triumph Stag

Movie:Diamonds are Forever
Any car Sean Connery picks for a cruise across The Netherlands is good in our book.

20. Saab 900 Turbo

Book: Multiple
You’ve probably never thought of Bond as a Saab guy if you didn’t read some of the later Bond novels. This was his personal car in several books and was never touched by Q, though it still had all the usual refinements. Amazingly, this car is real—it was designed by a legit company called Communications Control Systems, LTD, and Saab actually built one to exact specs. If this car were featured in one of the movies, it’d be a lot higher. Check it out in full right here.

19. BMW Z8

Movie:The World Is Not Enough
BMW’s gorgeous, modern variant of the classic 507 Roadster more or less made its debut with Bond, as the last car made by the original Q. The ironic thing is it was destroyed by a helicopter, even though it had ground-to-air missiles.

18. AMC Hornet

Movie:The Man with the Golden Gun
Classic American muscle car meets over-the-top flipping jump stunt. What’s not to love? That’s not CGI, either. They really made that jump work. Watch this behind the scenes shot and be amazed. 

17. Ford Mustang Mach 1

Movie:Diamonds Are Forever
If you were in Nevada in 1971 with nothing but hundreds of miles of open highway in front of you and tons of armed and evil security guards behind you, what else would you want to make your escape in?

 

16. Aston Martin DB Mk III

Book: Goldfinger
This car is hugely important for several reasons: 1) It was the first time Bond had a car with special gadgets designed by Q. 2) It was the first time Bond drove an Aston Martin. 3) It was based on a real life rally car.

15. The Blower Bentley

Book: Multiple
Most of us consider ourselves lucky if our first car was something in which we could at least take some pride of ownership. James Bond’s first car was one of the most famous Bentleys of the pre-war era. C’est la vie.

14. Soviet T55 Tank

Movie:GoldenEye
Virtually indestructible and heavily armed? Check. Handles great on slick Russian roads? Not so check.

13. BMW 750iL

Movie:Tomorrow Never Dies
When Tomorrow Never Dies came out, the thought of controlling a car purely by cell phone was considered idle fantasy. Now it’s what the engineers at Tesla fear most in the world. Props for the eerily accurate futurism on this one.

12. Alfa Romeo GTV6

Movie:Octopussy
Of course when James Bond needs to steal a car to outrun West German police to an American Air Force base, there’s an absolutely gorgeous, and fast, Alfa Romeo just sitting around waiting to be nicked.

11. Sunbeam Alpine Roadster

Movie:Dr. No
A car with no gadgets making the cusp of the top 10? Well, when it’s from one of the earliest on-screen Bond chases, and Sean Connery’s at the wheel, any car would look good. The Sunbeam, though, looked great.

10. Aston Martin V8 Vantage Volante

Movie:The Living Daylights
Not only is this just a cool car in its own right, it’s got rocket propulsion, missiles, and frickin’ lasers in the hubcaps.

9. Moon Buggy

Movie:Diamonds Are Forever
C’mon. It’s a freaking moon buggy. Who cares if there aren’t any gadgets; it’s cool.

8. Aston Martin DBS

Movie:On Her Majesty’s Secret Service
This was the Aston Martin to own in the late 1960s. This one was equipped with some basic refinements, though some armor might have been helpful in saving the life of Bond’s wife.

7. Lotus Esprit Turbo

Movie:For Your Eyes Only
The bronze-colored Esprit replaced a white one earlier in the movie that had its own self-destruct mechanism. Any car with all the usual refinements should rank highly, but one with great performance and the obvious good looks of a Lotus deserves its top 10 spot.

6. Lotus Esprit S1

Movie:The Spy Who Loved Me
Loaded down with cannons, missiles, and torpedoes, this car had it all. Oh, and it was a goddamn submarine, too. If it were just a little more believable, this would be a strong contender for numero uno.

5. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (a.k.a. "The Vanish")

Movie:Die Another Day
Ordinarily, target-acquiring guns mounted in the hood would be a car’s defining attribute, but this was called “The Vanish” for a reason. All things considered, this was probably Bond’s most complete vehicle from a gadgetry standpoint, but like the Lotus submarine before it, The Vanish isn’t exactly believable.

4. Jaguar XKR

Movie:Die Another Day
The epic chase over ice wherein a seriously bad dude with diamonds embedded in his face is basically Bond car vs. Bond car. This one wins out over the Vanish because everything, even the missiles tucked in the door, is at least somewhat plausible.

3. Toyota 2000 GT Convertible

Movie:You Only Live Twice
Yeah, this had no gadgets. Who cares? A normal 2000 GT was one of the best grand tourers of the 1960s, combining luxury and speed as well as anything from the likes of Jaguar, Porsche, or Ferrari. Today, they’re worth up to seven figures, and the only two convertibles ever made were the two made for You Only Live Twice.

2. Aston Martin DBS V12

Movie: Multiple
The understated car of choice for the understated Daniel Craig version of Bond is pretty much what a real spy would use if they had to go undercover at high-end casinos. There are no fancy weapons, just places to hide weapons. At the cusp of 200 mph, this is Bond’s fastest car. That counts for a lot during high-speed chases.

1. Aston Martin DB5

Movie: Multiple
What, you were expecting something else? Bulletproof panels, smoke screens, oil slick canons, tracking devices…the list goes on. It was extremely fast in its day, and was actually based on a real car that Ian Fleming came across. That it also happens to fit in perfectly in front of any casino in Monaco is simply a bonus. This is and will forever be the ultimate Bond machine.


Aaron Miller is the Rides editor for Supercompressor. He wouldn’t mind any of the cars in the top 10, so long as he never has to drive a cab in Paris.