Hammond Hosts 50 Years of Bond Cars

12 years, 1 month ago - 6 November 2012, Carbuzz
Hammond Hosts 50 Years of Bond Cars
Richard Hammond takes us through half a century of 007's rides, from the Sunbeam Tiger through the Lotus Esprit to the Aston Martin DBS, and of course the iconic, gadget-laden DB5.

James Bond wouldn't be James Bond without the cool cars. And over the past 50 years, 007 has driven some of the coolest. This year marks not only the release of the new movie "Skyfall", but also the golden anniversary of the first Bond film, "Dr. No". It's got Britain (and Anglophiles everywhere) all up in a tizzy, and as you might expect, Top Gear is doing its part. So to mark the occasion, Richard Hammond has hosted an hour-long special on 50 years of Bond cars.

For the special, Hammond not only interviewed the original director and the latest star, but he and the Top Gear crew also built their very own Lotus submarine. And not the open-cockpit Elise that Rinspeed made a few years back, either: a fully functional, fully closed Excel with fins and water jets, just like the Esprit from "The Spy Who Loved Me".

 

Check out the two-and-a-half-minute clip above, and if you have the hour to spend (and the BBC's lawyers haven't had it taken down by the time you see this), watch the whole episode in the video screen below.