Top Gear

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE

Hello, and welcome to Top Gear.

We're still here working from home at Television Centre! Come on.

CHEERING

We've still got our very select audience,

and Fred still can't walk under a low bridge.

This is your worst nightmare, isn't it?

No big crowd to laugh at your jokes.

Phil were laughing! He loved it, Phil there. He loved it. One.

Anyway, we've got a great show for you tonight.

The big man races a jet man.

We've got a beautiful new Ferrari.

And we've got you prancing around in a rented tux

pretending you're James Bond.

Yes, we have, because there's a new Bond film out later this year,

and that got us thinking - if you wanted a genuine Bond car

in your life, how do you get one?

Well, shake yourself a martini,

and enjoy Top Gear's guide to buying a Bond car.

You expect me to talk?

No, Mr Bond, I expect you to die.

For nearly 60 years, James Bond has been saving the day

from behind the wheel of some of the most iconic cars

the world has ever seen.

And would you believe it?

We were lucky enough to bring a whole bunch of them together

in our very own Bond bunker.

Oh...my God.

What?! Me eyes are just everywhere.

This is mega.

Straight away, DB5.

That is the OG right there.

It's like your childhood in a room, isn't it?

The Lotus submarine Esprit, look at that! The submarine!

Shall we have a little walk round? Yeah. Yeah.

Which way do you want to go? I want to have a look at the BMW

that's actually a kit car underneath.

All this... Yeah.

..and you want to start with that Beemer? Yeah, because I want...

The wheel base is a bit wrong underneath. Oh, God. Come on.

Oh, yes, from props department replicas like the Z8

to stunt prep specials like Aston Martin's Vanquish and DB10...

..these are some very special cars.

Isn't this one of the best cars ever? Forget Bond?

It is stunning, this thing.

I reckon that car could make YOU look good.

Do you know what? I hate to say it, boys - for a shape,

I prefer that.

That is the car. I love that. Living Daylights. Love it.

These Aston Martins are just magnificent. Yeah.

Oh! DBS. Come on.

Beautiful!

Name the Bond that drove this.

Ooh! Lazenby.

Yes. Get in!

OHMSS. I know me stuff! OHMSS.

That's the one for me, the one with the Spiro Jump in it.

Look at that!

He goes, "You ain't going to jump that, boy,"

and he goes, "I sure am, boy."

Vroom! Fantastic. Can we open the door?

It's got a plaque inside. Oh, I can see it.

"Driven by James Bond in the movie Man With The Golden Gun."

How cool is that?! How good's that?

These are the actual cars.

Boys, do you think I could sit in this one?

No.

There's no-one about. No.

I'm in, lads.

Oh!

God, these are sensational. Look at this!

HE MIMICS ENGINE NOISE

Every one is a priceless museum piece...

Look at that!

It's just history, innit?

..and each played its part

in enticing generations of loyal fans...

Look at this! This is it.

..to the magic of James Bond.

Don't touch it! I'm touching it, son!

I'll never get the chance again.

In fact, the only one the magic hadn't worked on was Flintoff.

I have got a confession here, lads.

I love the cars. Yes! I love them, I think unbelievable,

but I just don't get James Bond.

What do you mean you don't get James Bond? What's not to get?

He's James Bond. He's the ultimate secret agent.

But he's not, is he? Why?

Do you know who the best special agent is? Go on. Who?

Well, nobody knows, because special agents keep it under their hat.

Oh, God. They don't walk into places and go... Fred.

"Oh, the name's James Bond." "Oh, he's here, lads. Get rid of him."

You're overthinking James Bond. Yeah.

You can't overthink James Bond. You've just got to go with it.

Don't let Flintoff put you off. Bond is brilliant,

and so are his cars.

So let's kick off our buyer's guide with the good news

that there are proper Bond cars out there

that could be yours for sensible money.

Now, what better place to start than the start?

With the original, the affordable Sunbeam Alpine.

Oh, yes, this was the very first Bond car,

the Genesis of things to come.

James Bond Theme

1962's Dr No.

The late, great Sir Sean Connery is at the wheel,

and he's about to have his very first car chase.

James Bond is driving along, enjoying the sunshine,

he looks in the rear-view mirror.

"Ooh, what's that in the back there?

"A couple of rotters in a hearse."

With a few dubious sound effects...

TYRES SCREECH EXCESSIVELY

..and way too much steering...

HORN HONKS

..Bond sneaks under a conveniently-placed crane,

leaving the baddies to plunge off a cliff,

and burst into flames.

I think they were on their way to a funeral.

Amazing!

And that, my friends, was the very first Bond car chase.

Simpler times.

And the Alpine is, in truth, a simple car.

It's got four cylinders, and 80 brake horsepower,

which even by '60s standards was slow.

Ladies and gentlemen, this is 007mph.

But it looks great, you're not going to get a speeding ticket,

it's a proper piece of Bond history, and it doesn't cost the Earth.

You can get a decent one for just under ten grand,

and yeah, it might rust a bit,

and if you're getting chased by baddies, let's hope they're walking.

But that's not important, is it?

What's important is this is the car that started it all.

You want to buy a Bond car on a budget?

Buy the original.

Very nice, but no.

If you want a genuine Bond car for sensible money

that's actually good to drive, you want one of these -

an Alfa Romeo GTV6.

The film was Octopussy.

Sir Roger Moore was at the wheel evading the chasing police

with some proper driving in what still is a fabulous car.

I've never driven one of these before. It's an absolute honey.

It really is!

You've got Alfa's glorious, wonderful-sounding V6 up front...

..perfect weight distribution, I've got a transaxle layout.

That means the engine's in the front but the gearbox is out back,

so I've got 50-50 weight distribution.

You know what? This thing won rallies and won

touring car championships back in the day.

It's a thoroughbred.

Although not, admittedly, an especially reliable one.

It comes from that slightly ropey part of Alfa's history.

So they do rust if they're exposed to

anything other than bright sunlight.

And the upshot is,

if you want one that's more MI6 than stuck on the M6,

you're looking at about 30 grand.

But for something that drives this well,

with this kind of Bond heritage,

oh, yeah, that's got to be worth it.

All right, I'm no expert,

but if you really want a bit of 00fun on a budget...

Bond, sideways.

..forget Octopussy. You want...

..A View To A Kill.

It's the middle of Paris,

Sir Rog has nicked himself a Renault 11 taxi,

and as he races through the streets,

he chops off the top,

and then the back.

And what the big man created is nothing short of a cut-price...

..masterpiece.

Tell you what - of all the Bond cars you could be in,

I don't think I'd swap it. This is so much fun!

I don't need guns. I don't need oil slicks.

All I need is half a car.

Oh! Whoa!

OK, the Renault 5.5's handling is a little bit lively,

but when a whole one from the Continent will only set you back

1,000 euros, I call that a Bond car bargain.

Have a think about this. If you buy it in France,

cut it in half in France, bring it back on the Eurotunnel,

you only have to pay the price of a motorbike. It's dirt cheap!

This car makes sense.

The Renault 5.5 Maybe this Bond lad's all right!

Maybe he's got it right. This is fun.

Oh!

Well, more fun than being stuck with Harris the super fan,

at any rate.

My favourite thing about Bond car chases, though, is the stuff

going on in the background. They're like car time capsules.

From Octopussy, favourite bit, BMW 633 CSI

going the other way over the level crossing

as a police car comes the other way. You picked that out?

Yeah. Dear me.

CAR APPROACHES

What the...?

That is brilliant. That is absolutely brilliant!

Hey-hey!