‘Some men just don’t like to be taken for a ride.’ / THUNDERBALL / 1965
The history of James Bond onscreen is the history of cars, vehicular stars, roadside glamour, asphalt adventure and automobile design.
As No Time to Die pulls up the garage door on all manner of new (and familiar) vehicular co-stars for Commander Bond, a plush new book from writer Jason Barlow details a new four-wheeled history of 007’s special relationship with his cars, highway sidekicks and racing lines – Bond Cars: The Definitive History.
Featuring exclusive access to 007’s own extensive garage archives, Barlow yields new insight from producers Michael G. Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, star Daniel Craig and Visual FX supervisor and Bond car wizard Chris Corbould.
No Time to Die‘s Aston Martin V8 / Photo © Mark O’Connell
Richly steered with new imagery, blueprints, rare designs, call sheets, studio memos, deleted scenes, test photographs, producer downtime, candid asides, contact sheets and fresh insight from the EON Archives, Bond Cars’ journey is never a backseat drive.
Instead, it lifts the bonnet quite brilliantly and with non-petrol head ease on a detailed, heavily researched and insightful cruise through the real metallic history and character of Bond’s vehicular co-stars and their asphalted road to movie immortality.
With a tome whose own production echoes the sleek lines and design choices of seven decades of automobile artistry, Bond Cars also manages to be an informed look at the pop culture status of cinema alongside the hold of car culture – whilst providing fresh testament to the staggering scale, personalities, organisation and scope of the Bond production juggernaut. It is a forensic look at the attitude of 007’s wheels, the curious timeline of the 20th century automobile and the literal and artistic momentum Bond and his cars lend each other.
Much recommended for all car lovers, Bond lovers and those that are neither.
A collector’s edition of Bond Cars will be presented in a slip case and features exclusive posters and documents from the EON Bond archives.
BOND CARS – THE DEFINITIVE HISTORY by Jason Barlow
Penguin Random House / BBC Books
336 pages
