Top 10 Best Bond Car Chases

We love the James Bond films because they’re full of action, thrills, suspense, and intrigue. These are also key elements in a good car chase, so it’s no surprise that the 007 franchise has given us so many excellent sequences. Right from the start with the very first film, Dr. No, Bond has to escape some goons in a hearse in an exciting chase around Jamaica. The chase ends with the hearse exploding and Bond quipping, “I think they were on their way to a funeral.”

The car sequences only got more thrilling from there, with most of the films featuring white-knuckle vehicular mayhem that kept you right on the edge of your seat.

With so many options to choose from, SPY asked resident Bond fan and Spy Museum's Christian Evangelista to share his top 10 best car chases in James Bond films:

10. The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

AMC HORNET

Roger Moore’s second Bond film, The Man With The Golden Gun features one of the most famous and infamous car scenes in Bond history. Moore’s 007, along with the boisterous Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clifton James, back from his appearance in Live And Let Die) drive a stolen AMC Hornet throughout Bangkok, chasing after assassin Francisco Scaramanga (played by Christopher Lee). Scaramanga manages to get away to the other side of the river, and Bond’s only option is to drive across a twisted, broken wooden bridge, which causes him to corkscrew and land perfectly on the other side. The stunt was famously one of the earliest to use computer modeling to ensure the exact speed and weight needed to make the jump work. It is also infamous for the silly slide whistle sound effect that was added to the soundtrack, which dampens the impressive effect of the stunt.

9. For Your Eyes Only (1981)

Citroën 2CV

After the out-of-this-world action featured in Moonraker's space sequences, Roger Moore's next film, For Your Eyes Only brought things back down to Earth. That includes his choice of car as well. While two Lotus Esprit Turbos are seen in the film, the car used in the main chase in the film is instead a yellow Citroën 2CV. When fleeing Spanish assassins, Bond escapes in the car of the Bond girl, Melina Havelock (Carole Bouquet). Lacking any gadgets, Bond instead has to rely on his driving skills, including executing one of my favorite stunt driving moves, a reverse 180, also known as a J-Turn. The Citroën takes quite the beating during the chase, including lots of off-roading, jumps, and collisions. This more grounded chase was emblematic of the more realistic take on Bond throughout For Your Eyes Only.

8. Spectre (2015)

ASTON MARTIN DB10

It took four films for Daniel Craig’s James Bond to get a proper gadget-laden car, the Aston Martin DB10. Unfortunately, due to 007 stealing the car from Q-Branch before it was ready, not all of those gadgets are fully functioning, a fact that Bond doesn’t realize until he’s in a full fledged car chase through Rome. After escaping a SPECTRE meeting, he’s chased by henchman Mr. Hinx (Dave Bautista), driving an orange Jaguar C-X75.

Bond tries a switch marked “Backfire,” which activates rear facing machine guns. Except the ammunition isn’t loaded. “Atmosphere” just activates the radio. Finally, one of the switches works as “Exhaust” activates rear flamethrowers which engulf Mr. Hinx’s car. Bond successfully uses the “Air” switch to activate an ejection seat to escape while the DB10 crashes into the Tiber river, with Mr. Hinx following closely behind. The sequence showed how the 007 films were working classic elements back into the franchise, while still maintaining the grounded, more realistic take of Daniel Craig’s portrayal.

7. Die Another Day (2002)

ASTON MARTIN V12 VANQUISH

After three films with BMWs as 007’s car of choice (not counting brief appearances of the Aston Martin DB5), Pierce Brosnan’s fourth film, Die Another Day features Bond back behind the wheel of an Aston Martin. This time, it is a Aston Martin V12 Vanquish, equipped with an ejector seat, torpedoes, target-seeking shotguns, and most infamously, adaptive camouflage which made it practically invisible. Bond makes use of all of these refinements during a car chase in Iceland to save his ally Jinx (Halle Berry) who is trapped in the melting Ice Hotel with the villain Zao in hot pursuit. 007 uses the adaptive camouflage to trick Zao into driving off a ledge and crashing through the icy floor. While seemingly over the top now, this Bond action scene was perfect for the early 2000s, with its explosions, slow motion, and techno-inspired soundtrack, just like how Pierce Brosnan was the perfect Bond for his time. 

6. The Living Daylights (1987)

ASTON MARTIN V8 VOLANTE

Timothy Dalton’s The Living Daylights is the first time that Bond is back in an Aston Martin since 1969’s On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (not including a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it appearance of an Aston Martin DBS in Diamonds Are Forever). Dalton’s V8 Volante features updated gadgets, including missiles, rockets, retractable ski outriggers, and lasers to replace the DB5’s tire slashers. Bond uses most of the gadgets in a wintery chase from Bratislava over to the Austrian border. He sadly has to activate the car’s self-destruct mechanism as a distraction, while he and Bond girl Kara Milovy (Maryam d'Abo) sled across the border in Kara’s cello case.

5. Quantum of Solace (2008)

ASTON MARTIN DBS

Quantum of Solace opens with a tense, gripping car chase between Daniel Craig's James Bond in an Aston Martin DBS, and some bad guys in Alfa Romeo 159s. It's a thrilling scene as 007 races through Italian cliffs with precious cargo in his trunk: the kidnapped Mr. White (Jesper Christensen), head of the mysterious organization Quantum. Through the chase, Bond loses a car door and manages to dispatch his pursuers by out maneuvering them, using the environment and other vehicles on the road as weapons, and dispatching the last car with a few well placed shots from his UMP-9 submachine gun. The whole sequence is beautifully filmed, especially the opening scenes, with short closeups on the car and Bond’s eyes.

4. Tomorrow Never Dies (1997)

 BMW 750il 

While Pierce Brosnan’s first Bond film, Goldeneye features the BMW Z3 in a Q Lab scene, we never get to see it in action. Brosnan’s second Bond film, Tomorrow Never Dies, makes up for this in spades with the BMW 750il. Though it was an unconventional choice for Bond, being a sedan, the 750il featured a host of gadgets, including tear gas, security system, rocket launchers, re-inflating tires, and most impressively, a remote control system built into Bond’s mobile phone. Bond makes good use of the last feature in a car chase in a Hamburg parking structure, when he has to get the car remote started and jump into the rear seat, becoming a literal back seat driver. This action packed sequence gave fans what they wanted, with a thrilling, gadget-filled chase.

3. No Time To Die (2021)

ASTON MARTIN DB5

The beginning of Daniel Craig’s last 007 film, No Time To Die, shows Bond retired from MI6 with Dr. Madeleine Swan (Lea Seydoux) and driving around Matera, Italy in his Aston Martin DB5, newly rebuilt from the ground up by Q. Of course his newfound peace was not to last and he finds himself under attack by SPECTRE. This DB5 features updated versions of the DB5’s original gadgets, including miniature mines, LED changing number plates, smokescreen, and dual miniguns hidden behind the headlamps. He uses the miniguns and smoke screen, drifting around Matera. No Time To Die manages to balance the melodrama and action to give us not only a gripping chase but make us care about the heartbreak happening to these characters. Seeing the improved gadgets from the DB5 in action was many a Bond fan’s dream come true!

2. The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

LOTUS ESPRIT 

When you ask the average moviegoer to think of a James Bond car, it is usually either the Aston Martin DB5, or this car. In Roger Moore’s third 007 film, The Spy Who Loved Me, Bond is given a Q-Branch equipped Lotus Esprit. In Sardinia, with Colonel Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach) in the passenger seat, Bond has to evade a caravan of bad guys in other vehicles, including a motorcycle with exploding sidecar, a car with henchman Jaws (Richard Kiel) riding shotgun, and a helicopter flown by femme fatale Naomi (Caroline Munro). Bond is able to defeat the first two easily with some fancy maneuvering and a gadget which blinded the driver of Jaws’ car. 007 and Anya drive the Lotus off a pier. Thankfully this Lotus Esprit has been modified by Q Branch to convert into a submarine. They use the converted submersible to launch a surprise missile at Naomi’s chopper and then scout out the villain Stromberg’s (Curt Jürgens) underwater base, which of course starts a new underwater chase. Bond and Anya manage to dispatch the diver goons with some torpedoes, mines, and an underwater smoke screen. Unfortunately the Lotus has taken some damage from the fight and they are forced to surface at a nearby beach, to the shock of nearby beachgoers.

As Roger Moore’s first car chase with a gadget laden car, audiences were eager to see if it could live up to the DB5. Which car is better is a matter of taste, but for me, you can see which car comes up as number one…

1. Goldfinger (1964)



Aston Martin DB5 | (On display at the International Spy Museum)

The classic and quintessential Bond car, the 1964 Aston Martin DB5 in Silver Birch, as featured in Sean Connery’s third 007 film, Goldfinger. This is the car that every Bond car is compared to. We get a hint of the DB5’s gadgetry in a Q Lab scene where Q (Desmond Llewelyn) runs down the various features, but it is not until later that we see the DB5’s full potential. Bond and Tilly Soames (Tania Mallet) are trying to escape from Goldfinger’s henchmen and jump into the DB5. They make use of some of the gadgets, like the smokescreen, oil slick, and rear deflector screen. Bond waits for the ideal moment to make use of the car’s infamous ejector seat and gets rid of his captor. 

The DB5 captured the hearts and minds of the public and many children in the 60s had their own miniature version from toy company Corgi (one of which can be seen in the Spy Museum’s Licence To Thrill gallery). The Aston Martin DB5 also has a prominent place in the Spy Museum’s lobby, where guests can see some of its gadgets activated a number of times each hour. The DB5’s smooth style and the inventiveness of its gadgets make it the dream car of many, myself included. It’s known as “The Most Famous Car in the World” and the car chase which showed off all of its capabilities earned its place at the top of this list.

~~ Christian Evangelista