License to thrill — the top five James Bond cars
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}1964 Aston Martin DB5 (AP)
From his iconic bullet-firing Aston Martin DB5 to a gondola on wheels, James Bond has driven a dizzying array of motors that would leave any car fanatic shaken and stirred. Here we pick 007's top five rides:
Aston Martin DB5
(Goldfinger, Thunderball)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James's Bond's stylish Aston Martin DB5 is the quintessential 007 car and one of the most recognizable motors in the world. Sean Connery first got behind the wheel of the silver-birch DB5 for 1964's Goldfinger, dazzling fans with gadgets like pop-up guns, revolving number plates and a hidden car phone (albeit not that impressive by today's standards). It was also equipped with a set of tire-shredding, chariot-style wheel extenders and for any US drivers not used to driving stick, make sure you leave that ominous red button on the gear knob alone - it just happens to be the ejector seat. One of the two DB5s built for production was sold at auction for £2.6 million ($4.1 million) in 2010. The other was rebuilt as a regular road car and sold on, only to be stolen from its last owner in Florida.
Lotus Esprit S1
(The Spy Who Loved Me)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}James Bond had a license to snorkel with this seafaring supercar. The sleek white Lotus doubled as a sub in 1977s' The Spy Who Loved Me -- though it would probably have been a more apt ride for Octopussy. The car's legendary scene involved 007 trying his best to escape an enemy chopper, with the nimble Lotus first twisting and turning to evade a hail of machinegun fire, before James and his sexy female co-star hurtle headlong into the ocean. "Can you swim?" he coolly asks a bewildered Barbara Bach. The Lotus duly obliges and Bond and his KGB beauty make good their underwater escape.
BMW 750iL
(Tomorrow Never Dies)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It may have looked like a bland corporate sedan but the BMW 750iL took Bluetooth to a whole new level. Already bristling with the usual Q Branch gadgets, it could be controlled remotely via a cell phone. Tomorrow Never dies, and neither does Hollywood smoothie Pierce Brosnan, thanks to this unique feature. Surrounded by villains inside a German parking garage, Bond remotely fires up the engine, scatters the bad guys with a smoke bomb then leaps in through the window. Ducking for cover in the backseat, the secret agent deploys missiles, stingers and even a miniature buzz saw before crash-landing his bodacious Beema through the window of an Avis rental station. Classic Bond!
Citroën 2CV
(For Your Eyes Only)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}It might not look sexy but Roger Moore is so darn cool he can instantly pimp the lamest of rides. And this diminutive French classic is as sure-footed as a mountain goat as 007 outruns two equally pedestrian Peugeots on a Spanish mountainside in 1981's For Your Eyes Only. The bespoke canary-yellow Citroën was equipped with a beefed-up engine to withstand the epic pursuit, which ends with his chief tormentor's vehicle nestling precariously in an olive tree and a classic Bond quip: "Love a drive in the country, don't you?"
Aston Martin V12 Vanquish
(Die Another Day)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Striking looks, seamless performance and a great engine... but that's enough about Brosnan. The ridiculously good-looking Aston Martin Vanquish was just as handsome even if it did feature one of the most ludicrous Bond gadgets ever devised -- a full-on cloaking device known as "adaptive camouflage" that bordered on cheating. At the push of a button the sleek sports car became invisible, allowing 007 to trick North Korean nemesis Zao into a frozen lake and thus ensuring Bond lived to drive another day.