This
month marks the 50th anniversary of the release of the first James
Bond movie, Dr. No, in London. A lot has
changed over that time – the cold war ended (officially anyway), man has walked
on the moon and we’ve seen terrorists with destructive desires that rival some
of Bond’s worst fictional enemies.
Not
only has the world changed, but the vehicles that we drive. For a little entertainment and a break from
some of the real world worries, give some thought to what kind of car James
Bond would drive today. An Aston Martin
is the quick thought to come to mind, as it has so long been part of the
movies. In reality though, that is
probably out of the price range of a government agent, even one very well paid
and a bachelor.
In
the original Ian Fleming books, James Bond drove a 20-year old 1933 Bentley
convertible coupe, grey, with a supercharger.
The car was described as big, rear-wheel drive and fast for the time. He bought the car almost new and had it
inspected each year by a Bentley mechanic to keep it in top condition as he was
passionate about his driving and liked to drive it hard and fast.
If
Bond were looking for a car today, it is hard to imagine him driving something
20 years old – today’s products are not designed to last like that and the
technology changes so fast. Bentley’s
had a strong association with racing at the time and during the 20’s won a
number of world championships. It is a
safe to imagine that someone like James Bond would want a car associated with a
racing tradition. There are so many
different classes of races and vehicles from sports cars to Formula One race
cars that most car manufacturers have some representation in some form. Even Bentleys have reappeared on the race
circuits in recent years.
It
is also likely that Bond would prefer a British car, although not
necessarily. He carried an Italian and
later German handgun. He also preferred
coffee to tea, a not-very-British concept.
Car manufacturers are so intertwined with suppliers and owners from
other firms it is hard to find something purely British. Even Aston Martin is owned by Ford.
One
remaining British car company is the Morgan, which sells cars with a classic
look that are capable of reaching 170 mph.
The Morgan AeroMax is one model.
Morgan’s have also been seen on racetracks recently. The handling may not be quite up to Bond’s
standards though and at 130 mph, the front end starts to lift due to the
aerodynamics (the race version features a spoiler for control). The price is steep though at well over
$150,000.
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| Morgan AeroMax - Google Image search |
Bentley
could still be an option, with the price tag again being the biggest
hurdle. The Continental GT coupe with a
V12 engine is impressive and reported to handle well. It still has the classic style and luxury one
would expect for a Bond-like character.
Aston Martins are also a good choice, balancing performance with style,
but again may be pricey for a realistic perspective. In the books, Ian Fleming often had Bond’s
character or cover story being a rich playboy, explaining why he was given an
Aston Martin to drive in Goldfinger.
There
are several high performing cars available for under $100,000 that could be
serious contenders. One is the Nissan
GT-R, by all accounts a top-notch sports car that really delivers. Of course, it is a bit hard to imagine our favorite
British spy driving a Japanese car, but not out of the question if focusing on
the performance. Another option would be
a Porsche 911 Carrera. Again, a very
fast car, one that can accelerate from 0-60 in about 4 seconds, just like the
Nissan. The Porsche handling has been
improved and offers great cornering speed and control and has a very strong tie
to sports car racing.
One
last car to consider is the Lotus Evora.
It is built to race and can reach 160 mph. The Evora S with a supercharger added to the
Toyota V6 will reach 60 mph in less than 5 seconds and is comparable to the
Porsche. The Evora has a top speed of
162 mph and great handling. For those of
us that grew up watching Roger Moore as Bond can certainly relate to the Lotus
via the Esprit featured in several of the films. After all, what boy could forget a car that
turns into a submarine, equipped with anti-aircraft missiles? Bad news, though, for those readers looking
for a ‘real’ British car for the Bond of 2012 – Lotus is now owned by a
Malaysian car manufacturer, although still produced in England.
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| Lotus Evora - Google Image Search |
Lotus
is also well represented in the racing world, with the Lotus Formula One team
being a solid contender. In fact, this
season, one of their drivers has made a point of literally bumping off the
competition, which has helped his teammate – but that is another story.
Looking
at the options, the Lotus Evora S seems the best pick for Bond’s personal
car. He could even get it in the
battleship grey of his original Bentley, although, the name is much fancier and
is now Storm Titanium. Buying a used
Bentley, one a few years old, is another solid option and would certainly meet
the criteria set by Ian Fleming when he wrote the first Bond book in the
1950’s.
Certainly,
any one of these would be a fantastic car and you could hardly go wrong. I know that I’d be content driving any of
these!
Feel
free to comment and share your pick (there are many other cars not even
mentioned). Keep it classy - we are
talking about Bond.
Eric Smith, CPP is the leading authority
on organizational self-defense. He has
extensive experience in law enforcement as well as security management. Eric is available for staff education and
security awareness training as well as business coaching to help organizations
provide safe workplaces. To learn more email
eric@businesskarate.com.
