Muslims have Mecca. Cheeseheads have Lambeau. Elvis wackos have Graceland. These are varying degrees of devotion to be sure, but each group has a place where they must make a pilgrimage to at least once in their lifetime. For James Bond fans, their place of pilgrimage is now Keswick in the north of England.
The Bond Museum opens this Sunday, April 5, featuring the world's largest collection of items used in the 22 James Bond films. It's been gathered over the years by Peter Nelson through personal purchases and donations from other fans as well as actors and crew.
While golden guns and jet packs are all well and good, it is the absurdly thorough car collection that should make the pilgrimage to Keswick worth it not just for Bond aficionados but any car enthusiast. The full list of vehicles can be found after the jump, but in short, the collection is so complete, there are fewer Bond cars not present.
Highlights include the Aston Martin DB5 used in the Brosnan movies (the original Goldfinger car was stolen), the Lotus Esprit from The Spy Who Loved Me (in regular and submarine guises), one of two Toyota 2000GT roadsters in the world used for You Only Live Twice, the two-wheeling Mustang from Diamonds Are Forever, the Glastron speedboat from Live And Let Die, and the Russian T55 main battle tank from GoldenEye. That's right, they have a tank.
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm heading to LAX to catch a flight to Manchester. -- James Riswick, Automotive Editor
The Bond Car Collection
Aston Martin DB5 hero car from Goldeneye and Tomorrow Never Dies (I've seen this particular car and it's spectacular.)
Aston Martin DB5 gadget-laden car used in The Man From Uncle.
Aston Martin Vanquish hero car from Die Another Day
1969 Aston Martin DBS from On Her Majesty's Secret Service
Aston Martin V8 hero car from The Living Daylights.
They don't mention whether it has the gadgets featured in the movie.
Lotus Esprit S1 hero car from The Spy Who Loved Me
Lotus Esprit S1 submarine from The Spy Who Loved Me
White Lotus Esprit Turbo hero car from For Your Eyes Only (not the one that gets blown up)
Red Lotus Esprit Turbo from For Your Eyes Only
1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1 that did the continuity-challenged wheelie in Diamonds Are Forever
Toyota 2000GT used in You Only Live Twice. One of only two or three roadsters built. Sean Connery didn't fit in the regular coupe, so they chopped the top off.
BMW 750iL hero car from Tomorrow Never Dies (along with its remote control cell phone)
AMC Matador driven by Christopher Lee's Scaramanga in The Man with the Golden Gun
(not the flying car version). Probably the ugliest vehicle to appear in a Bond film.
Triumph Stag that Bond boosts from Peter Franks in Diamonds Are Forever
Tuk Tuk "company car" taxi from Octopussy
Renault taxi from A View to a Kill (they don't say whether it's in two pieces)
Citroen 2CV used to promote For Your Eyes Only (the original was banged to hell in the olive orchard)
General Ourumov's Volga from GoldenEye
Dragon tank re-creation from Dr. No
Range Rover Sport that Bond "borrows" from the valet stand in Casino Royale
Beach Buggy used to mow down the Countess in For Your Eyes Only
BMW R1200C motorcycle used in Tomorrow Never Dies
Gagiva motorcycle Bond drives off the cliff in GoldenEye
Rocket-firing motorcycle driven by Fiona Volpe in Thunderball
Russian T55 main battle tank driven by Bond in GoldenEye
Non-wheeled vehicles, but still pretty awesome
Gold Glastron speedboat used in the best boat chase ever in Live And Let Die, plus the red Glastron that may or may not be the original
Q Boat from The World is Not Enough, complete with working rocket boosters.
Parahawk snowmobile flying things from The World is Not Enough
Fairey Huntress boat used in From Russia With Love
Mini Bede jet from Octopussy that emerges from a fake horse's butt.
A hovercraft used in Die Another Day
The Pinewood Reunion Wetbike used in The Spy Who Loved Me. One of the world's first jet ski vehicles.
Little Nellie autogyro reproduction from You Only Live Twice
Black 206 Jet Ranger helicopter from The Spy Who Loved Me
Model of the Moonraker space shuttle used in Moonraker (sadly, there's no Gondola on wheels)
Jet Pack from Thunderball
For more info about the museum, visit TheBondMuseum.com (although there's not much to see right now)
For more blogs about Bond cars, click here.
7driver says:
11:11 AM, 04/ 3/09
Very nice, but some of the omissions are notable: The spiral-jumping AMC from Golden Gun, the Alfa GTV6 (and to a lesser extent, Orloff's Benz) from Octopussy, the carphone Bentley in From Russia, the Z3 from Goldeneye (ok, not that notable, but a nod to JRiz's :)
Still, that's quite a very impressive list especially for a private collection.
tryan says:
06:43 AM, 04/ 6/09
I know this is completely OT, but am I the only one that thinks it looks like Mr. Brosnan has a huge head in both photos? (and yes, I mean physically, not metaphorically)