6. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
One of the best parts of Die Another Day is this beauty, which also marked Bond’s return to driving the iconic brand. Not only was the V12 Vanquish in the movie beautiful, giving it great on-screen presence, it was loaded with the usual hardware: rocket launchers, machine guns, spiked tires, etc.
Another interesting fact about this Aston Martin: it was the first car in the Bond series that had CGI applied to it. That shouldn’t be shocking, because tricks like making it turn invisible isn’t exactly a factory option.
5. BMW Z8
While British roadsters from back in the day were great and all, the Germans have done a good job of keeping that feeling alive, without the unpleasant experience of bolts backing themselves out as you travel down the freeway.
James Bond climbed behind the wheel of the BMW Z8, a super roadster everyone still drools over, in The World is Never Enough. In the spirit of the franchise, just being an incredibly fast little drop-top wasn’t enough, the car was also outfitted with surface-to-air missiles and titanium armor. It also featured a remote control feature, which is pretty funny since the new 7 Series can do a little of that with a smartphone.
4. Lotus Esprit S1
The Esprit S1 was a beautiful car, making it great in its own regard, but what filmmakers added through special effects was just plain unforgettable. This submarine car fascinated audiences when the Spy Who Loved Me debuted, because who hasn’t fantasized about driving up on the beach in a Lotus, with people staring in amazement?
To make the underwater special effects work, filmmakers had to use three different Esprit S1 bodies. Perry Submarines was hired to do the seemingly impossible job, with highly trained frogmen piloting the cars. Needless to say, it was a difficult task that paid off big time, and the submarine cars are still highly sought after.
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