0:00:20 > 0:00:24BOND THEME
0:00:24 > 0:00:26Bond.
0:00:26 > 0:00:27James Bond.
0:00:27 > 0:00:32007 has ruled the world of big-screen action heroes
0:00:32 > 0:00:34for 50 years now.
0:00:36 > 0:00:40To date, over a quarter of the planet's population
0:00:40 > 0:00:44has seen him going about his spectacular day job.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45My name is Pussy Galore.
0:00:45 > 0:00:47I must be dreaming!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50The man is in a league of his own
0:00:50 > 0:00:53when it comes to watches,
0:00:53 > 0:00:55sharks
0:00:55 > 0:00:56and villains.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59Look after Mr Bond.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03See that some harm comes to him.
0:01:03 > 0:01:08And, of course, no-one can match him when it comes to his cars...
0:01:12 > 0:01:16..which have enthralled us for generation after generation.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29And none more so than this one.
0:01:35 > 0:01:38The Goldfinger Aston Martin DB5.
0:01:45 > 0:01:49It is, without doubt, the most famous car in the world,
0:01:49 > 0:01:53and the one that laid the foundations for the whole Bond/car relationship.
0:01:53 > 0:01:58Which makes it the perfect place to start our celebration
0:01:58 > 0:02:00of 50 years of Bond cars.
0:02:03 > 0:02:06Well, nearly the perfect place.
0:02:06 > 0:02:08Because if we're going to be thorough
0:02:08 > 0:02:12we should start with the very first Bond adventure,
0:02:12 > 0:02:13Dr. No.
0:02:13 > 0:02:16Usually, when a man gets in my way...
0:02:20 > 0:02:25With the whole film made on a very tight budget of just £350,000
0:02:25 > 0:02:31the fact was that Bond's debut car chase was never going to set the world on fire.
0:02:32 > 0:02:35At the wheel of a humble Sunbeam Alpine,
0:02:35 > 0:02:39he gets chased, briefly, by a hearse.
0:02:39 > 0:02:42The hearse falls over a cliff... and that's your lot.
0:02:44 > 0:02:47I think they were on their way to a funeral.
0:02:47 > 0:02:51To give you a flavour of how hand-to-mouth things were back then,
0:02:51 > 0:02:54I have a copy of a lovely letter written by the Bond producers
0:02:54 > 0:02:56to the people at the Sunbeam Motor Company.
0:02:56 > 0:03:01It's sort of complaining that they couldn't get a free car to film with
0:03:01 > 0:03:05and had to rent one locally for - and I quote - "a considerable sum".
0:03:05 > 0:03:10That "considerable sum" was 12 shillings a day!
0:03:13 > 0:03:17However, on its release in 1962,
0:03:17 > 0:03:19Dr. No was a big hit,
0:03:19 > 0:03:22as was the next film, From Russia With Love.
0:03:22 > 0:03:27This meant they could really push the boat out with the third film.
0:03:28 > 0:03:29Goldfinger.
0:03:32 > 0:03:34Do you expect me to talk?
0:03:34 > 0:03:36No, Mr Bond. I expect you to die!
0:03:38 > 0:03:42With evil super-baddie Auric Goldfinger
0:03:42 > 0:03:45planning to destroy America's gold supply,
0:03:45 > 0:03:48Bond faced his most daunting challenge yet.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56And to help 007 win the day,
0:03:56 > 0:04:00Q equipped him with a rather special car.
0:04:05 > 0:04:10You'll be using this Aston Martin DB5 with modifications.
0:04:10 > 0:04:11Windscreen, bullet-proof,
0:04:11 > 0:04:14as are the side and rear windows.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17Revolving number plates, naturally.
0:04:17 > 0:04:18Valid all countries.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22The revolving number plates, I think, was my contribution
0:04:22 > 0:04:26because I was getting so many parking tickets at the time
0:04:26 > 0:04:29because the office was in Mayfair
0:04:29 > 0:04:34and there were a lot of warden ladies, you know, very vicious.
0:04:34 > 0:04:38And I thought, "Wouldn't it be lovely, you get the ticket, she's marking away,
0:04:38 > 0:04:42"and then you press the button and the revolving...
0:04:42 > 0:04:44"And she's left with egg on her face!"
0:04:44 > 0:04:45I thought, "That's a good thing!"
0:04:45 > 0:04:47See this arm here?
0:04:47 > 0:04:51Open the top and inside are your defence mechanism controls.
0:04:51 > 0:04:57And somebody said, "Why not put machine guns in it?" I thought, "Nothing wrong with that."
0:04:57 > 0:05:01And so the gadgets added and added and added.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Now, this one, I'm particularly keen about.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05See the gear lever here?
0:05:05 > 0:05:09If you take the top off, you'll find a little red button.
0:05:10 > 0:05:13- Whatever you do, don't touch it! - Why not?
0:05:13 > 0:05:15Because you'll release this section of the roof
0:05:15 > 0:05:19and engage and then fire the passenger ejector seat.
0:05:19 > 0:05:22That, I think, came from my stepson.
0:05:22 > 0:05:28He'd seen obviously, an ejector plane seat and that had impressed him.
0:05:28 > 0:05:29Ejector seat? You're joking!
0:05:29 > 0:05:32I never joke about my work, 007.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35With the car gadgets planned out,
0:05:35 > 0:05:38all that was needed was an actual car.
0:05:38 > 0:05:42So the Bond producers went and asked Aston Martin
0:05:42 > 0:05:43if they could borrow one of theirs.
0:05:43 > 0:05:49And in reply, the Aston Martin bosses said...
0:05:49 > 0:05:51"No, absolutely not. It isn't worth the bother."
0:05:51 > 0:05:55Harry Saltzman, the Bond producer, came back at them quite indignantly.
0:05:55 > 0:05:57"Well, have you seen Dr. No?"
0:05:57 > 0:05:59"Actually, no", replied the chap from Aston.
0:05:59 > 0:06:03"What about From Russia With Love"? Again, "No.
0:06:03 > 0:06:05"But I'll tell you what. We will sell you a car.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09"At the full price. £4,500."
0:06:09 > 0:06:13At this point Saltzman slammed the phone down
0:06:13 > 0:06:16and the most famous car in cinema history
0:06:16 > 0:06:19was on the verge of being a Jaguar.
0:06:25 > 0:06:27A Jensen was also considered.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29And a Chevrolet.
0:06:29 > 0:06:32But the Bond producers kept plugging away at Aston,
0:06:32 > 0:06:36who, in the end, still with absolutely no idea of what they were letting themselves in for,
0:06:36 > 0:06:40begrudgingly lent them a second-hand development car.
0:06:40 > 0:06:45And the Bond special effects chaps could go to work making their creation come to life.
0:06:47 > 0:06:52In the end, gadgetising the car cost £25,000,
0:06:52 > 0:06:54more than five times the price
0:06:54 > 0:06:56of an actual DB5.
0:06:56 > 0:07:00But boy, was it worth it!
0:07:02 > 0:07:05First out of the box was the tyre shredder.
0:07:07 > 0:07:10And then all the other gadgets were unleashed
0:07:10 > 0:07:14in the legendary chase sequence against Goldfinger's evil henchmen.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20Some of it was wonderfully low tech.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23The smoke coming out of the back of the car,
0:07:23 > 0:07:25that was very simple.
0:07:25 > 0:07:31We had a very small prop man and we put him in the boot of the car.
0:07:31 > 0:07:35There was a hole and a smoke canister and all he had to do was open the thing.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39And the canister was leaking and there was this smoke coming.
0:07:39 > 0:07:44The poor bugger was practically asphyxiated!
0:07:50 > 0:07:51Aghh!
0:07:55 > 0:08:00In the film, the setting for the car chase is in the grounds of Goldfinger's factory
0:08:00 > 0:08:02in Switzerland.
0:08:05 > 0:08:09But in reality, the chase was actually shot here
0:08:09 > 0:08:14amongst the alleyways and buildings of Pinewood Studios in Buckinghamshire.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19This is where the angry, fat Fraulein shoots at Bond.
0:08:21 > 0:08:24And this is the location for the climax of the chase,
0:08:24 > 0:08:28where Bond fires at what he thinks is a car coming towards him
0:08:28 > 0:08:32and then swerves violently to avoid it.
0:08:36 > 0:08:39Actually, it's probably a good job he crashed,
0:08:39 > 0:08:44because at one point in the chase, the Aston's four-litre, six-cylinder engine went a bit dicky
0:08:44 > 0:08:47and was only running on three cylinders!
0:08:48 > 0:08:49But the misfiring engine
0:08:49 > 0:08:53is not the memory that haunts the director.
0:08:54 > 0:08:57You did get a great letter from a schoolboy, that I read about.
0:08:57 > 0:09:00Addressed to the director, Goldfinger.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03"Dear sir,
0:09:03 > 0:09:06"when the Aston Martin leaves the UK,
0:09:06 > 0:09:09"the wheels are Pirelli's 568s,
0:09:09 > 0:09:13"but when it arrives at the petrol station in Switzerland,
0:09:13 > 0:09:16they're Dunlop's 426s", or something.
0:09:16 > 0:09:22And I didn't even bother to ask my editor to have a look and see,
0:09:22 > 0:09:24because I knew that the little bugger was right!
0:09:24 > 0:09:27Was the letter signed James May, by any chance?
0:09:27 > 0:09:30He'd have been two, but I think he would have noticed!
0:09:31 > 0:09:35So there we are. A car that nearly never happened.
0:09:35 > 0:09:38Gadgets dreamed up by overgrown kids with too many parking tickets,
0:09:38 > 0:09:41a man suffocating in the boot
0:09:41 > 0:09:44and a chase, sometimes on three cylinders, sometimes not,
0:09:44 > 0:09:46round some grubby warehouses.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49Hardly the ingredients for a Avengers Assemble, is it?
0:09:49 > 0:09:54But when the lights went down in the cinema in September 1964,
0:09:54 > 0:09:56wow!
0:09:59 > 0:10:02The public went mad for Goldfinger.
0:10:02 > 0:10:06And they went equally crazy for the DB5,
0:10:06 > 0:10:09which ended up going on its own world tour
0:10:09 > 0:10:13and opening up Bond to a whole new audience.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18The Aston changed everything.
0:10:18 > 0:10:22And this brings us to an important question.
0:10:22 > 0:10:27Why was it, above all others, chosen to be Bond's car?
0:10:27 > 0:10:29Well, to find the answer,
0:10:29 > 0:10:33a good place to start is with the Bond books.
0:10:40 > 0:10:44This, as you may have noticed, is not an Aston Martin.
0:10:44 > 0:10:48It's a 4.5-litre 1930s super-charged Bentley.
0:10:48 > 0:10:51And this is the car
0:10:51 > 0:10:55that Bond's creator Ian Fleming chose to give his secret agent in the books.
0:10:55 > 0:10:57In Fleming's mind,
0:10:57 > 0:11:00the Bentley was the obvious choice for Bond.
0:11:01 > 0:11:03As a young reporter for Reuters,
0:11:03 > 0:11:06the author had covered the 24-hour Le Mans race
0:11:06 > 0:11:11and had seen the mighty Bentleys vanquish all the foreign johnnies.
0:11:11 > 0:11:14Also, a Bentley was exactly the right sort of car
0:11:14 > 0:11:19for Bond's cover as a wealthy bachelor about town.
0:11:19 > 0:11:22Fleming was, without doubt, a proper petrol-head.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25He writes brilliant car chases full of lovely details
0:11:25 > 0:11:28about exhaust notes and super-chargers at full chaff.
0:11:28 > 0:11:31In Casino Royale, the very first Bond book,
0:11:31 > 0:11:34he writes how Bond's car was his only personal hobby.
0:11:39 > 0:11:40And then in the book Moonraker,
0:11:40 > 0:11:44Bond's beloved Bentley is destroyed during a frantic car chase,
0:11:44 > 0:11:46leaving him in need of a new set of wheels.
0:11:46 > 0:11:52And then in 1957, as Fleming is sitting down to write his new book, Goldfinger,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55he receives a letter from a Dr G. Gibson,
0:11:55 > 0:11:57a car enthusiast from Cambridgeshire,
0:11:57 > 0:11:59who says he hopes Fleming will have
0:11:59 > 0:12:02"the decency to fix Bond up with a decent bit of machinery.
0:12:02 > 0:12:08"I would suggest an Aston Martin, a DB3."
0:12:09 > 0:12:12And when Goldfinger is published a year later,
0:12:12 > 0:12:14this is what we read:
0:12:24 > 0:12:28The film-makers simply updated Fleming's DB3 to a DB5.
0:12:28 > 0:12:31And Dr Gibson, wherever you are up there,
0:12:31 > 0:12:33thank you, sir.
0:12:33 > 0:12:36You have no idea what you started!
0:12:37 > 0:12:40But now we must leave the Aston Martin
0:12:40 > 0:12:43and move on to the next great Bond car.
0:12:45 > 0:12:48You can't say your own films, from the past, what's your favourite Bond car?
0:12:48 > 0:12:50- Bond car?- Yeah.
0:12:50 > 0:12:51Um...
0:12:53 > 0:12:58I don't know. I love that little... Is it the Datsun in Japan
0:12:58 > 0:13:01- when the girl drives up. - Toyota 2000.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03Is that what it is? I love that car.
0:13:03 > 0:13:06I know I'm being a bit specific, but that's one of my favourites.
0:13:06 > 0:13:07TYRES SCREECH
0:13:07 > 0:13:09Get down!
0:13:11 > 0:13:15Daniel's favourite car appears in the film You Only Live Twice
0:13:15 > 0:13:17where Bond has to prevent World War III
0:13:17 > 0:13:24by destroying the hollowed-out volcano belonging to his arch enemy, Ernst Stavro Blofeld
0:13:24 > 0:13:28I shall look forward personally to exterminating you, Mr Bond.
0:13:29 > 0:13:31Since the film was set in Japan,
0:13:31 > 0:13:34the star car had to be Japanese.
0:13:34 > 0:13:37And this is what was chosen.
0:13:37 > 0:13:40The Toyota 2000 GT.
0:13:45 > 0:13:49Daniel Craig clearly has very good taste.
0:13:49 > 0:13:51Because even without the Bond connections,
0:13:51 > 0:13:54this 2000 GT is a very important car.
0:13:57 > 0:14:01Developed jointly by Yamaha and Toyota in the mid-'60s,
0:14:01 > 0:14:04when Toyota was desperate to shake off its stodgy image,
0:14:04 > 0:14:08this exquisite front-engined rear-drive machine
0:14:08 > 0:14:12became known as Japan's first super car.
0:14:14 > 0:14:16The engine is a two-litre Toyota straight six
0:14:16 > 0:14:18that was then worked on by Yamaha.
0:14:18 > 0:14:22Yamaha also have contributed the wood inlay on the dash,
0:14:22 > 0:14:24the same wood they used on their pianos.
0:14:25 > 0:14:30The whole thing is wrapped up in this beautiful light aluminium body.
0:14:30 > 0:14:32It is...
0:14:32 > 0:14:34..absolutely gorgeous.
0:14:34 > 0:14:38And rare. One of these today would set you back half a million pounds.
0:14:41 > 0:14:44Unlike the Goldfinger DB5,
0:14:44 > 0:14:47the 2000 GT didn't have any fighting gadgets.
0:14:47 > 0:14:51In fact, it needed a bit of help to dispense with the baddies.
0:14:52 > 0:14:56Which Bond could watch live on the in-car TV.
0:15:03 > 0:15:05How's that for Japanese efficiency?
0:15:05 > 0:15:07Just a drop in the ocean!
0:15:07 > 0:15:12Now, there's something else you need to know about this car.
0:15:12 > 0:15:16Something that's not immediately obvious with me in it!
0:15:17 > 0:15:19It is quite small.
0:15:19 > 0:15:22However, Sean Connery isn't.
0:15:22 > 0:15:27The original 2000 GT as delivered to England to be kitted out with all its gadgets and stuff
0:15:27 > 0:15:29was a hard top, just like this one.
0:15:29 > 0:15:33And when the Bond producers took delivery,
0:15:33 > 0:15:35they found, with filming just about to start,
0:15:35 > 0:15:39that Sean Connery simply wouldn't fit in it!
0:15:39 > 0:15:41The solution, obviously, was a convertible.
0:15:41 > 0:15:45But this was a brand new car. No convertible version existed.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48However, we are talking about Toyota here.
0:15:48 > 0:15:53So when the Bond people got on the phone, Toyota simply said, "Yeah, come back in two weeks",
0:15:53 > 0:15:55and sure enough, a fortnight later,
0:15:55 > 0:16:00the whole thing had been re-designed and rebuilt as a soft top.
0:16:02 > 0:16:06Without question, then, the Bond films of the '60s
0:16:06 > 0:16:09had seen 007 in some truly iconic cars.
0:16:10 > 0:16:12But as the '70s came around,
0:16:12 > 0:16:15the films entered a new car era.
0:16:15 > 0:16:18The era of smash, bang and wallop.
0:16:24 > 0:16:30In Diamonds Are Forever, Live and Let Die and The Man with the Golden Gun,
0:16:30 > 0:16:33the car carnage was off the scale.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38And as with Goldfinger,
0:16:38 > 0:16:42these films were all directed by Guy Hamilton.
0:16:47 > 0:16:52At the time, Bullitt had just come out with that very intense, terse car chase with the Mustang
0:16:52 > 0:16:54and the Chargers.
0:16:54 > 0:16:58Were you not tempted to go in that direction? You went the other way, really.
0:16:58 > 0:17:02No, because I don't like a car chase. I find them boring.
0:17:02 > 0:17:05Everybody's done car chases before.
0:17:05 > 0:17:09What can we do that makes this one different?
0:17:10 > 0:17:12One thing that was different
0:17:12 > 0:17:15was to devise some nifty stunts.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18I gotcha now!
0:17:21 > 0:17:22Lean over!
0:17:25 > 0:17:29Diamonds Are Forever had one of the most famous stunt moments in it
0:17:29 > 0:17:31with the car on two wheels through the alleyway.
0:17:31 > 0:17:35But also one of the real Hall of Fame Blooper moments
0:17:35 > 0:17:38cos it went in on one set of wheels
0:17:38 > 0:17:40and came out on the other!
0:17:44 > 0:17:48It's a significant change from being that way to being that way!
0:17:48 > 0:17:50Did the audience notice at the time?
0:17:50 > 0:17:55I was waiting for them to all stand up and walk out of the cinema!
0:17:55 > 0:18:00And to my amazement they were still sat there, giggling!
0:18:01 > 0:18:06The blooper came about because Guy filmed the car coming out of the alleyway first
0:18:06 > 0:18:09and then suddenly had to fly back to England.
0:18:09 > 0:18:14So he left the producer Cubby Broccoli in charge of filming the car
0:18:14 > 0:18:15going into the alley.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20And three weeks later, Cubby comes along and says
0:18:20 > 0:18:23here are the rushes, we've got your goddamn wheelie shot.
0:18:23 > 0:18:25Well, I went to rushes
0:18:25 > 0:18:28and it's wheelie side up,
0:18:28 > 0:18:33and the shot I'd got of it coming out the other end it's wheelie side down!
0:18:33 > 0:18:38So he says, "What do you think, Guy?" I said, "They have to do it again.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40- He said no- BLEEP- way!
0:18:43 > 0:18:45After Diamonds Are Forever,
0:18:45 > 0:18:48Connery handed over the baton to Roger Moore,
0:18:48 > 0:18:51who gave us a more light-hearted Bond.
0:18:53 > 0:18:57Mm, such a delicate touch!
0:18:57 > 0:18:59Sheer magnetism, darling.
0:18:59 > 0:19:02My attitude was that Bond is not real.
0:19:02 > 0:19:05He's not a spy.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08He walks into every bar in the world and the barman knows him.
0:19:08 > 0:19:10"Ah, Martini shaken, not stirred."
0:19:10 > 0:19:15On the first wrong answer from Miss Solitaire,
0:19:15 > 0:19:18you will snip the little finger on Mr Bond's right hand.
0:19:19 > 0:19:22In Roger's first film, Live and Let Die,
0:19:22 > 0:19:25where he battled voodoo and evil heroin dealers...
0:19:28 > 0:19:31..he was given a rather unconventional car chase.
0:19:32 > 0:19:38We're in Jamaica and what I did notice was that they've got double-decker buses.
0:19:38 > 0:19:44And I thought, "Bond in a bus. We can have some fun with a bus!"
0:19:45 > 0:19:49Before we went out there, they took me down to the skid pad
0:19:49 > 0:19:51near Hammersmith
0:19:51 > 0:19:52to be able to spin.
0:19:52 > 0:19:57At first you think, "Oh, no, it's going to tip."
0:19:57 > 0:19:58But they don't tip.
0:20:02 > 0:20:04Despite Roger's training,
0:20:04 > 0:20:07an expert was needed at the wheel for the stunt sequences.
0:20:09 > 0:20:12And instead of using a normal stunt driver,
0:20:12 > 0:20:15the Bond people drafted in an actual London bus driver,
0:20:15 > 0:20:18Maurice Pratchett.
0:20:19 > 0:20:24Maurice, yes. He was a lovely fellow who got to drive under the bridge.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30You don't think I was going to go driving under a bridge?
0:20:31 > 0:20:33I hope he got paid stunt money.
0:20:43 > 0:20:45All change! End of the line.
0:20:47 > 0:20:50In the next film, The Man with the Golden Gun,
0:20:50 > 0:20:54Bond takes on the deadly triple-nippled assassin, Scaramanga.
0:20:56 > 0:20:57Ready!
0:20:59 > 0:21:01SINISTER LAUGH
0:21:06 > 0:21:09This was Bond's car.
0:21:09 > 0:21:11The AMC Hornet.
0:21:12 > 0:21:16Which, in one of cinema's eggiest-ever product placement moments,
0:21:16 > 0:21:20Bond commandeers from an AMC showroom in Bangkok.
0:21:20 > 0:21:22- Can I have my demonstration? - Certainly.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26And then uses it to give chase to Scaramanga
0:21:26 > 0:21:30who is, completely coincidentally, driving another AMC car.
0:21:43 > 0:21:46Where the hell have they got to?
0:21:48 > 0:21:50Scaramanga was on the opposite riverbank
0:21:50 > 0:21:52and making a clean getaway.
0:21:53 > 0:21:55You goofed, boy.
0:21:55 > 0:21:57Now, up until this moment,
0:21:57 > 0:22:02the little Hornet's only claim to fame was that it was available with denim seat covers!
0:22:04 > 0:22:07All that was about to change!
0:22:07 > 0:22:11- You're not thinking that... - I sure am, boy!
0:22:12 > 0:22:14Ever heard of Evel Knievel?
0:22:22 > 0:22:28Not only was the astro spiral jump the most spectacular Bond stunt yet,
0:22:28 > 0:22:33it was also the first car stunt to be worked out using computers.
0:22:33 > 0:22:38However, it still needed a human being in the hot seat.
0:22:39 > 0:22:44The car that they drove, the steering wheel was in the centre.
0:22:44 > 0:22:47It had to be very carefully balanced.
0:22:47 > 0:22:50It also needed a huge run up.
0:22:50 > 0:22:55They did it at 49 miles an hour or something,
0:22:55 > 0:22:58and it had to be really spot on.
0:22:58 > 0:23:01We had divers, we had ambulances,
0:23:01 > 0:23:03we had air ambulances.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09You know, because this was not tested, if you follow my meaning.
0:23:09 > 0:23:11But, on the day,
0:23:11 > 0:23:16the driver had to dash back to America for family reasons
0:23:16 > 0:23:19and the mechanic said, "All right, I'll do it."
0:23:20 > 0:23:25And this very brave fellow who'd never done it before
0:23:25 > 0:23:29just came down and that was it.
0:23:29 > 0:23:31- And it was one take.- One take.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33And Cubby, ever generous,
0:23:33 > 0:23:37went up to him with a roll of 100 bills.
0:23:37 > 0:23:39And he said, "There."
0:23:39 > 0:23:42And the guy said, "Can I do it again?"
0:23:44 > 0:23:47The car thrills weren't over, though.
0:23:47 > 0:23:51Because after Bond's spiral jump, Scaramanga makes his escape
0:23:51 > 0:23:54in dramatic fashion.
0:24:06 > 0:24:10This is the car you see in the air in the film.
0:24:10 > 0:24:15The Bond producers, ever proud of their record of doing things for real,
0:24:15 > 0:24:19had wanted to use an actual flying car, an AVE Mizar,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23which was a Cessna light aircraft mated to a Ford Pinto.
0:24:23 > 0:24:26But shortly before filming began,
0:24:26 > 0:24:29the inventors of the AVE were in a routine flight in their creation
0:24:29 > 0:24:32when the plane bit sort of came away
0:24:32 > 0:24:35and the two chaps found themselves flying at quite a height
0:24:35 > 0:24:37in a second-hand Ford Pinto.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Sadly, both of them were killed
0:24:40 > 0:24:43and the Bond people retreated to the safety of a model flying car.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48So far, then, the films of the '70s
0:24:48 > 0:24:50had given us some excellent car stunts
0:24:50 > 0:24:56but what they hadn't given us was a car to match the Goldfinger DB5.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59A car that was a star in its own right.
0:25:01 > 0:25:06However, in the next film, The Spy Who Loved Me,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09all that was about to change.
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Observe, Mr Bond,
0:25:11 > 0:25:13the instruments of Armageddon.
0:25:14 > 0:25:19This time, Bond is up against the web-fingered baddy, Stromberg,
0:25:19 > 0:25:23who has the modest ambition of blowing up the world,
0:25:23 > 0:25:27and then starting a new civilisation under the sea.
0:25:29 > 0:25:32Stopping him is a formidable challenge, and to help him,
0:25:32 > 0:25:35Bond is issued with a new car.
0:25:35 > 0:25:37A Lotus Esprit.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48Now, the baddy's lair was in Sardinia.
0:25:48 > 0:25:53And when Q arrived there to give Bond his new Lotus,
0:25:53 > 0:25:57007 drove off before Q could give him the usual briefing
0:25:57 > 0:25:59on how all the gadgets worked.
0:25:59 > 0:26:03- One or two rather special accessories...- Q, have I ever let you down?
0:26:03 > 0:26:04Frequently!
0:26:09 > 0:26:13That was done deliberately, because when the car unveiled its party piece,
0:26:13 > 0:26:17the Bond makers wanted the cinema-goers to experience
0:26:17 > 0:26:20a moment they would never forget.
0:26:20 > 0:26:22MACHINE GUN FIRE
0:26:26 > 0:26:28Can you swim?
0:26:40 > 0:26:43Unquestionably, your biggest Bond car moment,
0:26:43 > 0:26:45when it turns into a submarine.
0:26:45 > 0:26:48Do you remember the response at the time, how people received that moment?
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- It was a... - GASPS
0:26:52 > 0:26:57That got applause from behind the Iron Curtain, I'm sure.
0:26:57 > 0:26:59And that was just the start of it,
0:26:59 > 0:27:02because Q had stuffed the Lotus full of weaponry.
0:27:09 > 0:27:12And then when it came out of the water,
0:27:12 > 0:27:16lowered the window and dropped a fish out,
0:27:16 > 0:27:21and Cubby said, "How did the fish get in there?"
0:27:21 > 0:27:26We said, "Let's not worry about how it got there!"
0:27:27 > 0:27:30The Lotus was unquestionably
0:27:30 > 0:27:36the first car since the DB5 that could match 007 for screen presence.
0:27:36 > 0:27:39And the story about how the Esprit actually got into the film
0:27:39 > 0:27:42is a tale worthy of Ian Fleming himself.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47The man we have to thank is a chap called Don McCloughlin.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51In the 1970s, he was the PR boss at Lotus.
0:27:51 > 0:27:57And when he heard from friends at Pinewood that the Bond people wanted a new car for their next film,
0:27:57 > 0:28:01he, naturally enough, wanted it to be a Lotus.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08The problem was, though, that with the films now the most successful franchise in the world,
0:28:08 > 0:28:12everyone was fighting to get their products into a Bond movie.
0:28:13 > 0:28:18Don decided the only way to hook the Bond people was, instead of going begging to them,
0:28:18 > 0:28:21get them to come to him.
0:28:21 > 0:28:25And so one day he turned up at Pinewood in a prototype Esprit.
0:28:25 > 0:28:27The car hadn't even gone on sale yet.
0:28:27 > 0:28:32And he deliberately taped over every part of the car - the speedo, the steering wheel, the gear knob -
0:28:32 > 0:28:34that said the word Lotus.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38He then parked the car outside the Bond offices
0:28:38 > 0:28:41and went off to see a friend across the way.
0:28:42 > 0:28:46Sure enough, when the Bond big-wigs came outside at lunch time,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48they saw his amazing-looking car
0:28:48 > 0:28:53and immediately crowded round. But they couldn't tell what it was.
0:28:53 > 0:28:55And then Don came outside,
0:28:55 > 0:28:57pushed his way through the crowd,
0:28:57 > 0:29:00and deliberately avoiding answering any of their questions,
0:29:00 > 0:29:03simply got in the car and drove off.
0:29:03 > 0:29:09He gambled that this tactic would make the Bond people desperate to find out what the car was
0:29:09 > 0:29:10and come after it.
0:29:10 > 0:29:13It took a pair of 007-sized cojones,
0:29:13 > 0:29:15but it worked.
0:29:17 > 0:29:23Besides Don, there's also another unsung hero in the Lotus story.
0:29:25 > 0:29:29When the Bond crew started filming the chase sequence in Sardinia,
0:29:29 > 0:29:33the stunt driver was struggling to make the Lotus look exciting on camera
0:29:33 > 0:29:35because it was so grippy.
0:29:36 > 0:29:38Watching this problem unfold
0:29:38 > 0:29:44was Lotus employee Roger Becker, who delivered the Esprit to the set.
0:29:44 > 0:29:49To make it slide, you've got to be going very quick
0:29:49 > 0:29:53and taking the car up to and beyond its limit on a corner.
0:29:53 > 0:29:58And that was something that the stunt driver, he somehow couldn't quite handle.
0:29:58 > 0:30:03And I guess the real turning point was what was a very simple shot,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06two or 300 yards up the road was a right-hand corner
0:30:06 > 0:30:10and then driving up the hill into the next chase scenes.
0:30:10 > 0:30:13And mysteriously, the stunt driver had disappeared.
0:30:13 > 0:30:16So the camera crew who were parked up on top of a hill
0:30:16 > 0:30:19said, "Well, bring the car up anyhow."
0:30:19 > 0:30:22So I jumped in the car, absolutely flailed it up the road,
0:30:22 > 0:30:28slid it round this corner, up the hill, onto this dirt area where they were parked,
0:30:28 > 0:30:31all sideways, and when the dust settled,
0:30:31 > 0:30:34there's the first director and assistant director standing there
0:30:34 > 0:30:38and they said, "Would you mind going and doing that again,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41"and this time, we'll have the cameras rolling!"
0:30:42 > 0:30:47From that moment on, Roger was deputised as James Bond's stunt driver.
0:30:52 > 0:30:57The most hair-raising part was the helicopter chase
0:30:57 > 0:30:58because it was close.
0:30:58 > 0:31:03And I guess the most exciting part of all
0:31:03 > 0:31:05was the pass underneath the helicopter.
0:31:05 > 0:31:09I come round a left-hand corner with explosions going on all around me
0:31:09 > 0:31:13and then you look up and there's this helicopter pointing at you
0:31:13 > 0:31:16at a height off the ground
0:31:16 > 0:31:19that I was absolutely convinced was not enough.
0:31:19 > 0:31:23And you've got to drive straight at it at 70, 80 miles an hour.
0:31:23 > 0:31:28There's only one thing you can do. Put your foot down as hard as you can and close your eyes!
0:31:29 > 0:31:32But, as exciting as the chopper chase was,
0:31:32 > 0:31:36it's the submarine sequence that raises the most interesting question.
0:31:36 > 0:31:40Namely what, in Bond's fantasy car world,
0:31:40 > 0:31:43is actually possible in the real world?
0:31:44 > 0:31:48You see, when the Bond people came up with that amazing underwater Lotus sequence,
0:31:48 > 0:31:50for all their incredible skills,
0:31:50 > 0:31:55they were never able to make a real, working submarine car.
0:31:55 > 0:31:59So some of it was made using the shell of an Esprit with two divers inside it,
0:31:59 > 0:32:02and the other bits were filmed using these models.
0:32:02 > 0:32:07The bubbles coming out of the back were actually Alka Seltzer tablets dissolving!
0:32:11 > 0:32:16Well, let's see if today we can get by without the indigestion tablets.
0:32:17 > 0:32:21Because I can't think of a better 50th birthday present
0:32:21 > 0:32:27than for us to make that Holy Grail of Bond cars a living, breathing reality.
0:32:29 > 0:32:31And with this magnificent machine,
0:32:31 > 0:32:34we may well have done just that.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38Now, the more alert viewers will already have noticed
0:32:38 > 0:32:41that this is not, in fact, a Lotus Esprit,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44but a Lotus Excel.
0:32:44 > 0:32:49That's because our Bond submarine car has been lovingly hand-crafted on a budget!
0:32:49 > 0:32:53And an Excel is really way cheaper.
0:32:59 > 0:33:01And likewise for budgetary reasons,
0:33:01 > 0:33:05the location for our maiden voyage is not Sardinia,
0:33:05 > 0:33:07but a reservoir neat Matlock.
0:33:14 > 0:33:18Before I head out into that warm, sapphire-blue water,
0:33:18 > 0:33:24let me talk you through the features of the world's first working - hopefully - submarine car.
0:33:24 > 0:33:27First, the windscreen, which would cave in under pressure from the water.
0:33:27 > 0:33:31That's been replaced with a special plastic used in aircraft windows
0:33:31 > 0:33:35and for the visors of astronauts' space helmets.
0:33:35 > 0:33:39Then, despite the fact that Lotuses are legendary for never leaking,
0:33:39 > 0:33:43we have taken the precaution of fitting it with a glass fibre inner skin.
0:33:43 > 0:33:46Yes, that has compromised the practicality a little,
0:33:46 > 0:33:48but we thought it worthwhile.
0:33:48 > 0:33:53Then propulsion. These thrusters underwater will be driven by electric motors.
0:33:53 > 0:33:55WHIRRING
0:33:55 > 0:33:57And finally, ballast.
0:33:57 > 0:34:00To compensate for the amount of air inside the car,
0:34:00 > 0:34:02we will have to add a lot of weight to make it sink.
0:34:02 > 0:34:06And after much scientific thought and calculation,
0:34:06 > 0:34:08we've come up with a neat and clever solution.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12Filling the tyres with concrete.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14There is much more to talk about,
0:34:14 > 0:34:16but let's get underway and do that on the move.
0:34:18 > 0:34:22But since the launch preparations take a little time,
0:34:22 > 0:34:25let us return now to Sir Roger Moore.
0:34:25 > 0:34:28So I absolutely have to ask, do you have a favourite?
0:34:28 > 0:34:31- Of all the cars?- All the Bond cars.
0:34:33 > 0:34:36The little two-stroke whatever it was.
0:34:36 > 0:34:40- The Citroen 2CV?- Yeah.- Really?! Why?
0:34:40 > 0:34:42Because it didn't matter if you hit it.
0:34:47 > 0:34:51Roger's beloved 2CV stars in For Your Eyes Only,
0:34:51 > 0:34:54- when a Keystone Cops-style chase... - Hold tight!
0:34:54 > 0:35:00..called for something cheap and tough that could go off-road and out-fox the big boys.
0:35:06 > 0:35:11And actually, maybe Roger's choice isn't such a bad one.
0:35:12 > 0:35:16Especially if you've always fancied owning a Bond car on a budget!
0:35:18 > 0:35:19It is a bit of a come-down!
0:35:19 > 0:35:23Nevertheless the 2CV is a bona fide Bond car.
0:35:23 > 0:35:27A good one will set you back about £6,000
0:35:27 > 0:35:29plus all of your dignity.
0:35:29 > 0:35:32So I don't know, you might want to give this one a miss.
0:35:33 > 0:35:37Another option is the Renault 11 from A View to a Kill,
0:35:37 > 0:35:40since a good one costs around £2,000.
0:35:41 > 0:35:47However, if you're going to be picky, you really should have it with the Bond modifications...
0:35:49 > 0:35:53..which do take away some of the 11's famed practicality!
0:35:55 > 0:35:59No. If Top Gear were to recommend a Bond car on a budget,
0:35:59 > 0:36:02then it could only be one of these.
0:36:06 > 0:36:08The Alfa Romeo GTV.
0:36:10 > 0:36:14The GTV appears in Octopussy, when Bond has to rush to an air base
0:36:14 > 0:36:17to warn everyone of an atomic bomb about to go off
0:36:17 > 0:36:19and he nicks one of these to do so.
0:36:19 > 0:36:21SPEAKS GERMAN
0:36:26 > 0:36:30Now, younger viewers might be thinking, "Why didn't he just borrow somebody's mobile phone?"
0:36:30 > 0:36:33But this was 1983,
0:36:33 > 0:36:36so the car would have been a lot smaller and easier to steal
0:36:36 > 0:36:38than a mobile phone of the day!
0:36:39 > 0:36:43There are no fancy car stunts in the GTV sequence.
0:36:43 > 0:36:48But the Alfa does, as you'd expect, give some cracking driving moments.
0:36:48 > 0:36:52The sort of thing the purist Ian Fleming would have approved of.
0:36:58 > 0:37:03I can't understand why there wasn't more Alfa action in Bond's life.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05Well, I can.
0:37:05 > 0:37:09He'd forever be arriving at the baddy's hollowed-out volcano on the back of a tow truck!
0:37:09 > 0:37:10But, even so...
0:37:11 > 0:37:15Today, a good one of these will set you back about £8,000.
0:37:15 > 0:37:18Plus a million or so in maintenance.
0:37:18 > 0:37:21But it is the Bond car to have.
0:37:26 > 0:37:28It's all so boring here, Margot.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31There's nothing but playboys and tennis pro's.
0:37:31 > 0:37:34If only I could find a real man.
0:37:35 > 0:37:40In 1987, Roger Moore was replaced by Timothy Dalton.
0:37:40 > 0:37:41I need to use your phone.
0:37:41 > 0:37:44She'll call you back.
0:37:45 > 0:37:50Keen to take 007 back to his tough, no-nonsense roots,
0:37:50 > 0:37:54the producers introduced the new Bond with a tough, no-nonsense car sequence.
0:37:57 > 0:38:02And most important of all, reunited him with an old friend.
0:38:03 > 0:38:08"Dear Mr Broccoli, I thoroughly enjoyed meeting you and Michael Wilson on Friday
0:38:08 > 0:38:12"and write to confirm my understanding of the agreement between us
0:38:12 > 0:38:14"relating to the arrangements for motor cars
0:38:14 > 0:38:16"in the forthcoming Bond film."
0:38:16 > 0:38:18Blah, blah, blah, blah.
0:38:18 > 0:38:19Blah.
0:38:19 > 0:38:21"Yours, very sincerely,
0:38:21 > 0:38:24"Victor Gauntlet, Chairman,
0:38:24 > 0:38:26"Aston Martin."
0:38:30 > 0:38:35Bond's new Aston Martin, a V8 Volante,
0:38:35 > 0:38:37was an update of his old DB5.
0:38:37 > 0:38:42And likewise, his gadgets were a re-boot of the ones seen in Goldfinger.
0:38:43 > 0:38:46Instead of a mechanical tyre shredder,
0:38:46 > 0:38:49the job was now done by a laser beam.
0:38:52 > 0:38:53What happened?
0:38:53 > 0:38:55Salt corrosion.
0:38:55 > 0:38:59And instead of machine guns, there were now guided missiles.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07Sadly, there was no ejector seat.
0:39:07 > 0:39:09Time to leave.
0:39:13 > 0:39:16But Q made up for that with the car's winter pack!
0:39:22 > 0:39:24Brace yourself.
0:39:32 > 0:39:35The Aston would end up meeting a fiery death.
0:39:35 > 0:39:39But by evoking the spirit of the Goldfinger DB5,
0:39:39 > 0:39:43it had helped make audiences comfortable with the new Bond.
0:39:47 > 0:39:49Which was a bit of a shame,
0:39:49 > 0:39:53because despite some sterling vehicular work,
0:39:53 > 0:39:57Dalton was replaced after just two films...
0:39:59 > 0:40:01..by Pierce Brosnan.
0:40:12 > 0:40:16Vodka Martini. Shaken, not stirred.
0:40:17 > 0:40:19This was the mid-'90s.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22Bond had been around for 16 movies
0:40:22 > 0:40:25and was facing tougher competition than ever
0:40:25 > 0:40:27from films like Die Hard and True Lies.
0:40:30 > 0:40:33The Bond people responded by filling the Brosnan films
0:40:33 > 0:40:36with spectacular action sequences
0:40:36 > 0:40:40that were the equal of anything else on the cinema screen.
0:40:43 > 0:40:45Q's not gonna like this!
0:40:45 > 0:40:47In fact,
0:40:47 > 0:40:50there was only one area that let the side down.
0:40:51 > 0:40:53The cars.
0:40:53 > 0:40:56007 was taken out of his Aston Martin
0:40:56 > 0:41:00and put for the first time in a BMW.
0:41:01 > 0:41:06And now we come to the low point of Bond motoring.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12In GoldenEye, he was given this hairdresser's Z3.
0:41:12 > 0:41:15On screen for two minutes and did nothing.
0:41:15 > 0:41:17In The World Is Not Enough,
0:41:17 > 0:41:22he had this Z8, which drives about 50 feet, fires a rocket,
0:41:22 > 0:41:24then gets cut in half.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27They were just a bit pointless.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31And then, when they did put him in an Aston,
0:41:31 > 0:41:33it was terrible!
0:41:36 > 0:41:40Here we can clearly see a chase featuring a Ferrari 355,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44one of the best handling modern Ferraris ever,
0:41:44 > 0:41:47and Bond in an Aston Martin that's 30 years older,
0:41:47 > 0:41:49somehow keeping up.
0:41:49 > 0:41:51I don't think so.
0:41:52 > 0:41:55Admittedly, in Tomorrow Never Dies,
0:41:55 > 0:41:58the car action does perk up.
0:42:00 > 0:42:03Your new BMW 750.
0:42:03 > 0:42:06All the usual refinements. Machine guns,
0:42:06 > 0:42:09rockets, the GPS tracking system.
0:42:12 > 0:42:15Capable of being driven by Bond via his mobile phone,
0:42:15 > 0:42:21the 7 series unleashes its many gizmos during an explosive chase in a car park.
0:42:24 > 0:42:29But the fact remains we were still watching the world's most dashing secret agent
0:42:29 > 0:42:33driving around in a sales manager's company car.
0:42:35 > 0:42:39Eventually, in Brosnan's final film, Die Another Day,
0:42:39 > 0:42:42order was restored.
0:42:50 > 0:42:52Reunited with his rightful mark,
0:42:52 > 0:42:55this time in a Vanquish,
0:42:55 > 0:43:01Bond puts the Aston to good use in a spectacular car chase on a frozen lake in Iceland.
0:43:03 > 0:43:07When we decided there was going to be a car chase on ice,
0:43:07 > 0:43:11my heart sank cos I thought, "I have to come up with something exciting on the lake.
0:43:11 > 0:43:13"You won't have a street full of shoppers,
0:43:13 > 0:43:18"or sidewalk cafes that cars that can go through."
0:43:18 > 0:43:23So I thought, "If we send both protagonists out equally matched,
0:43:23 > 0:43:27"then it's like a really good sword-fencing competition
0:43:27 > 0:43:30"where each one foils the other every time."
0:43:30 > 0:43:33So they both had rockets, and each rocket cancels each other out.
0:43:33 > 0:43:37And then we had machine guns and mortars vying for each other.
0:43:37 > 0:43:40So it was really just a competition between two very talented people.
0:43:42 > 0:43:43And that was the theme.
0:43:51 > 0:43:55And day-to-day, the ice had to be, what was it, ten inches thick?
0:43:55 > 0:43:59Ten inches thick on the ice. Couldn't have more than four people standing together.
0:43:59 > 0:44:01Just the weight on the ice.
0:44:01 > 0:44:07Because it's scary enough anyway. The ice is like a trampoline. The cars gave a trampoline effect.
0:44:07 > 0:44:09And as it happens, during the chase,
0:44:09 > 0:44:11we had a little argument with an iceberg!
0:44:15 > 0:44:19We came off pretty much the same way without actually sinking, but the same way the Titanic did.
0:44:19 > 0:44:21It destroyed us!
0:44:21 > 0:44:26Although Q had loaded the Aston with high-tech weapons,
0:44:26 > 0:44:29they weren't its most amazing feature.
0:44:30 > 0:44:35Aston Martin call it the Vanquish. We call it the Vanish.
0:44:38 > 0:44:40Oh. Very good.
0:44:43 > 0:44:48Now, some critics complained that the invisibility cloak was a gadget too far,
0:44:48 > 0:44:52that it was taking Bond into science fiction.
0:44:58 > 0:45:02But the fact is, the Bond people hadn't lost the plot
0:45:02 > 0:45:04as we shall now demonstrate,
0:45:04 > 0:45:07with a bit of Top Gear engineering.
0:45:08 > 0:45:10Just like the Aston Martin,
0:45:10 > 0:45:14we, too, have based our creation on a classic British name.
0:45:14 > 0:45:18It's a Ford Transit. Because one, well, it is cheaper,
0:45:18 > 0:45:21two, its slab sides are the perfect place
0:45:21 > 0:45:23for us to fit these flat-screen TVs.
0:45:24 > 0:45:27Here's how it works. This is the clever science bit.
0:45:27 > 0:45:34Cameras dotted on each side will be filming everything around the car/van
0:45:34 > 0:45:39as it goes along, live, and relaying those images to the screens.
0:45:39 > 0:45:42Thus making the car/van blend into the background
0:45:42 > 0:45:45and rendering it invisible.
0:45:48 > 0:45:51In order to prove that the technology works,
0:45:51 > 0:45:55I shall now demonstrate it with a drive through town.
0:45:58 > 0:46:01OK, so here we are in town.
0:46:01 > 0:46:04There are plenty of people about.
0:46:04 > 0:46:06Right now, all they can see is a van
0:46:06 > 0:46:09that looks like it's been covered in glue and driven through Currys.
0:46:09 > 0:46:12But, if I turn this switch here,
0:46:12 > 0:46:14everything changes.
0:46:14 > 0:46:16Invisibility cloak...
0:46:17 > 0:46:19..descend!
0:46:26 > 0:46:30Unfortunately, because of the power needed to operate the plasmas,
0:46:30 > 0:46:35there has to be a chap in the back operating quite a sizeable generator.
0:46:36 > 0:46:41Nevertheless, I have simply vanished!
0:46:42 > 0:46:44Yep, totally transparent.
0:46:45 > 0:46:48I am a phantom,
0:46:48 > 0:46:49a spectre,
0:46:49 > 0:46:52drifting through town, as invisible as the wind.
0:46:54 > 0:46:57They're not shouting at me. They don't know I'm here.
0:46:58 > 0:47:02They're just having a laugh cos one of them said a funny joke or something, I guess.
0:47:02 > 0:47:08The feeling of anonymity, of invisibility,
0:47:08 > 0:47:10is absolutely, oh...
0:47:10 > 0:47:14Now, that's... She only pulled out on me because she couldn't see me.
0:47:14 > 0:47:17These are people having lunch.
0:47:17 > 0:47:19They have no idea.
0:47:19 > 0:47:22I could drive right up and listen in to their conversation
0:47:22 > 0:47:24as a spy might, and they wouldn't know.
0:47:27 > 0:47:31My one worry is how we would deal with insurance claims
0:47:31 > 0:47:34because obviously nobody would have seen me
0:47:35 > 0:47:41to know that it was me that crashed into them because I am invisible.
0:47:43 > 0:47:45Yep, totally transparent.
0:47:47 > 0:47:48So there we are.
0:47:48 > 0:47:50Proof that an invisible car
0:47:50 > 0:47:53is something that we could actually see on the roads.
0:47:54 > 0:47:57And now we must move on to the current James Bond.
0:48:01 > 0:48:05- Vodka Martini.- Shaken, not stirred? - Do I look like I give a damn?
0:48:11 > 0:48:14Daniel Craig's first film, Casino Royale,
0:48:14 > 0:48:17ushered in an era of tougher, more realistic action.
0:48:20 > 0:48:23And this no-nonsense tone
0:48:23 > 0:48:26also gave us one of Bond's most brutal car stunts.
0:48:28 > 0:48:33This is the Aston he drove, an Aston Martin DBS. We'll come back to it in a minute.
0:48:33 > 0:48:35But first, let us delve into the book Casino Royale.
0:48:35 > 0:48:39In it, there is a passage in which Bond is giving chase to some baddies
0:48:39 > 0:48:42who've kidnapped the girl he loves, Vesper Lynd.
0:48:42 > 0:48:44This is what happens.
0:48:44 > 0:48:47"He was only doing about 60 as he approached the black patch
0:48:47 > 0:48:49"across the right-hand crown of the road.
0:48:49 > 0:48:52"Even so, there was no time to save himself.
0:48:52 > 0:48:56"There was suddenly a small carpet of glinting steel spikes
0:48:56 > 0:48:57"right under his off-side wing.
0:48:57 > 0:49:01"Then he was on top of it. The heavy car whirled across the road
0:49:01 > 0:49:03"in a tearing dry skid.
0:49:03 > 0:49:06"And then it reared slowly up,
0:49:06 > 0:49:09"its front wheels spinning and its great headlight searching the sky.
0:49:09 > 0:49:13"It seemed to paw at the heavens like a giant preying mantis.
0:49:13 > 0:49:17"Then, slowly, it toppled over backwards and fell,
0:49:17 > 0:49:20"with a splintering crash of coachwork and glass."
0:49:20 > 0:49:26For the film, the producers wanted to recreate and up-date that moment.
0:49:26 > 0:49:29And boy, did they!
0:49:30 > 0:49:35On the storyboards, the plan was for Bond to give chase in the Aston,
0:49:35 > 0:49:38come across Vesper lying in the middle of the road
0:49:38 > 0:49:41and then swerve violently to avoid her
0:49:41 > 0:49:43causing the car to roll.
0:49:46 > 0:49:49The stuntmen rehearsed the roll-over with an old BMW 5 series
0:49:49 > 0:49:51which flipped easily.
0:49:51 > 0:49:54But when they tried it with the actual car,
0:49:54 > 0:49:56the more aerodynamically-shaped Aston
0:49:56 > 0:49:58just wouldn't roll.
0:50:10 > 0:50:13So they thought, "Let's fit a cannon underneath
0:50:13 > 0:50:16"that'll fire into the ground and flip the car.
0:50:16 > 0:50:18"That should do it."
0:50:19 > 0:50:21It did!
0:50:33 > 0:50:36In fact, by the time the Aston came to rest,
0:50:36 > 0:50:38it had set a new world record
0:50:38 > 0:50:41for the number of rolls in a car stunt.
0:50:45 > 0:50:47'And cut it!'
0:50:52 > 0:50:54This desire for hard realism
0:50:54 > 0:50:58can also be seen in the epic car chase which forms the opening sequence
0:50:58 > 0:51:00of the latest Bond film, Skyfall.
0:51:07 > 0:51:10The chase sequence in Skyfall does that relentless thing.
0:51:10 > 0:51:12It just builds and builds and builds.
0:51:12 > 0:51:14It starts here on the streets in Istanbul
0:51:14 > 0:51:18with the baddy in a Audi A5 being chased by Bond in a Land Rover Defender.
0:51:18 > 0:51:21Then after much bashing and smashing and tyre squealing,
0:51:21 > 0:51:23the Audi ends up on its side.
0:51:31 > 0:51:35And because the Bond people are no fans of CGI,
0:51:35 > 0:51:39preferring to make their car chases in the old-fashioned analogue way,
0:51:39 > 0:51:42they do get through quite a lot of metal!
0:51:47 > 0:51:5115 Audis alone will meet their maker in this sequence.
0:51:52 > 0:51:54So what kind of Bond baddy are you?
0:51:54 > 0:51:55Uh...
0:51:55 > 0:51:59A cocky one. You know, he loves what he's doing.
0:52:01 > 0:52:06He's a great driver, a great rider, a great shooter and he's a great fighter.
0:52:06 > 0:52:08And I have the best teachers.
0:52:08 > 0:52:11I have Ben Collins teaching me how to drive an Audi!
0:52:14 > 0:52:17Yes, our former Stig,
0:52:17 > 0:52:20having doubled for Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace...
0:52:21 > 0:52:24is now a Bond driving instructor.
0:52:24 > 0:52:28And also the wheel man in the very latest type of stunt vehicle.
0:52:30 > 0:52:32Come on, talk us through it. Nice t-shirt!
0:52:32 > 0:52:34Thanks. Just need to update that a bit.
0:52:34 > 0:52:37- Did you pay for it?- Yeah, it was in the sale! Good.
0:52:37 > 0:52:39So how does this work? What is it?
0:52:39 > 0:52:41It's a standard Land Rover, pimped,
0:52:41 > 0:52:44they've played with the suspension, given it more power.
0:52:44 > 0:52:47On top of that is the pod. That's where I sit and where I drive.
0:52:47 > 0:52:49All the controls are based up there.
0:52:49 > 0:52:53The way it works, the actress or actor can sit inside and they can do their dialogue
0:52:53 > 0:52:55without worrying about steering.
0:52:55 > 0:52:59- It's budget, that.- It's mega. That's why the car chases are real.
0:52:59 > 0:53:01So you taught Daniel to drive, didn't you, for films.
0:53:01 > 0:53:05- Fast, yeah.- Yeah? - He's got a heavy right foot.
0:53:05 > 0:53:08He picked it up really quickly. I met him down at Dunsfold
0:53:08 > 0:53:11and taught him drifting and took him through an assault course.
0:53:11 > 0:53:13Handbrake turns, J turns.
0:53:13 > 0:53:17Occasionally I had to tell him to try and stay off the grass, not to spin too much.
0:53:17 > 0:53:19It's amazing stuff to do. You should write a book(!)
0:53:19 > 0:53:21I'm just thinking the same thing.
0:53:22 > 0:53:25After the Audi ends up on its side,
0:53:25 > 0:53:28the baddy and Bond commandeer some crashed motorbikes
0:53:28 > 0:53:31and continue the chase on two wheels.
0:53:33 > 0:53:36So the motorcycles come up these stairs here
0:53:36 > 0:53:38into this area.
0:53:39 > 0:53:44We had to be very careful because of the archaeological treasures that are in this temple.
0:53:44 > 0:53:47We've been having a problem making sure we preserve them.
0:53:47 > 0:53:49We can't touch anything in here.
0:53:49 > 0:53:52This is one of the oldest arches in Istanbul.
0:53:52 > 0:53:54It dates from about the 10th century.
0:53:54 > 0:53:57It's restored. It's Roman up to here
0:53:57 > 0:54:00and 10th century all round here.
0:54:00 > 0:54:05Inside here, you see the brickwork's been restored in the 1900s
0:54:05 > 0:54:08but otherwise, it's completely original.
0:54:08 > 0:54:11And from this side you can see the great...
0:54:11 > 0:54:14I bought that completely, Michael!
0:54:14 > 0:54:16Totally. I totally bought that.
0:54:16 > 0:54:19I was thinking how does that work?
0:54:19 > 0:54:21We try to make it pretty real.
0:54:21 > 0:54:23We try... We still do stunts,
0:54:23 > 0:54:26but try to make them look like they're not stunts.
0:54:26 > 0:54:29They look like they could happen.
0:54:29 > 0:54:31And that "being real" thing,
0:54:31 > 0:54:35- we want to watch a Bond film and think, "Somebody's doing that." - Right.
0:54:35 > 0:54:38Someone's doing the stunt. It may not be the actor,
0:54:38 > 0:54:40but some human being is doing it.
0:54:43 > 0:54:46The human being doubling for Daniel Craig in the bike sequence
0:54:46 > 0:54:49is stunt rider Robbie Maddison,
0:54:49 > 0:54:51whose skills will be tested to their limit
0:54:51 > 0:54:55because the bike chase doesn't just happen on the streets.
0:54:56 > 0:55:00But also up here, on the ancient city rooftops.
0:55:01 > 0:55:04The opening scene, we come down this pathway
0:55:04 > 0:55:08in front of us here. I'm chasing the bad guy as fast as I can go.
0:55:08 > 0:55:12- What pathway? Seriously, what pathway?- These little ones here.
0:55:12 > 0:55:14On bikes. OK.
0:55:21 > 0:55:24What kind of speeds are you hitting on these walls?
0:55:24 > 0:55:28Fourth gear, we're probably doing about 70 kilometres an hour
0:55:28 > 0:55:33on the roof. So we're coming along the pathways and jumping some of the rooftops.
0:55:39 > 0:55:44So if you come up here slightly too fast on this side
0:55:44 > 0:55:46and get your tyre in one of these ridges,
0:55:46 > 0:55:48you're going to jump off there and there's nowhere to land.
0:55:48 > 0:55:52It's one of those jumps where either you get it right
0:55:52 > 0:55:54- or you pay the consequences. - It's really bad.
0:56:04 > 0:56:06The dangerous part is that we've got no helmets on.
0:56:06 > 0:56:09So the bad guy's got no helmet, Bond's got no helmet.
0:56:09 > 0:56:15But I guess Bond can't stop, buy a crash helmet, reject it cos it doesn't fit, buy one that fits...
0:56:15 > 0:56:17He's not expecting a bike ride, is he?
0:56:23 > 0:56:28After the bike sequence, the chase reaches a spectacular climax
0:56:28 > 0:56:29on the roof of a train.
0:56:41 > 0:56:43And as far as cars go,
0:56:43 > 0:56:46there's also another treat in store.
0:56:48 > 0:56:50This DB5 I'm driving
0:56:50 > 0:56:54is not the actual one used in Goldfinger.
0:56:54 > 0:56:58But it is the actual one used in Skyfall.
0:56:58 > 0:56:59Which means
0:56:59 > 0:57:01it's back!
0:57:10 > 0:57:14And I suppose that's completely inconspicuous(!)
0:57:14 > 0:57:19It's no secret we've got the old DB5 in this.
0:57:19 > 0:57:22You know, the buttons are all there. They're in the console.
0:57:22 > 0:57:25I get to play with them. We blow a few things up in this movie,
0:57:25 > 0:57:27- but that's... You know.- No way!
0:57:27 > 0:57:30- Explosions and things? - We've got a few of them!
0:57:30 > 0:57:32But on the car chase thing,
0:57:32 > 0:57:34- how did you find it? Did you get to grips with it?- I love it.
0:57:34 > 0:57:37It's, you know, getting the chance to drive some beautiful cars,
0:57:37 > 0:57:40as well as some clapped-out cars,
0:57:40 > 0:57:44it's like a schoolboy dream.
0:57:44 > 0:57:46I get to wreck a few as well.
0:57:46 > 0:57:48I've wrecked a few expensive cars.
0:57:48 > 0:57:52Our old Stig did some stunt-driving training with you.
0:57:52 > 0:57:54I'm not blowing smoke, but he did say you were very good.
0:57:54 > 0:57:57He's a lovely man. He is on a retainer, though, by the way!
0:58:01 > 0:58:04And now that Skyfall has brought us to the present day,
0:58:04 > 0:58:09it's time to return to Matlock and fire up our birthday present.
0:58:10 > 0:58:12HMS Heath Robinson!
0:58:15 > 0:58:17Good. Solar.
0:58:18 > 0:58:21On. Deploying dive planes.
0:58:21 > 0:58:23Oh, yeah. WHIRRING
0:58:23 > 0:58:26Listen to that comforting Bond noise
0:58:26 > 0:58:30that tells you something somewhere is making mechanical magic happen.
0:58:34 > 0:58:38Nothing else to do. We are ready. This is it.
0:58:41 > 0:58:46Obviously I have switched my engine off, so I'm rolling it.
0:58:46 > 0:58:49But as soon as I hit that water, I can fire up my thrusters
0:58:49 > 0:58:50and away we go!
0:58:53 > 0:58:55Oh, that feels peculiar!
0:58:55 > 0:58:58I'm very conscious of the fact that this is a Top Gear creation!
0:59:04 > 0:59:05Here comes the w... Oh!
0:59:07 > 0:59:10It's only working, isn't it?
0:59:31 > 0:59:33I watched the film as a kid.
0:59:33 > 0:59:35And now, for real,
0:59:35 > 0:59:41I'm in a James Bond-style submarine Lotus.
0:59:47 > 0:59:49I'm controlling it with these levers.
0:59:49 > 0:59:52These steer the dive planes on the back.
0:59:52 > 0:59:55The buttons on top operate the thrusters.
0:59:55 > 0:59:58The thing is positively buoyant. It wants to float.
0:59:58 > 1:00:00But the thrusters and the dive planes
1:00:00 > 1:00:02drive us under the water.
1:00:02 > 1:00:07Now, you'll notice I haven't actually drowned, and yet we built this thing.
1:00:07 > 1:00:10That's because the air that's rushing into the cabin right now
1:00:10 > 1:00:13is pushing out the water.
1:00:14 > 1:00:17So... Although there are a few leaks,
1:00:17 > 1:00:19there are a few leaks happening,
1:00:19 > 1:00:22but this is, well, there's no other word for it,
1:00:22 > 1:00:24quite simply brilliant.
1:00:24 > 1:00:26It actually works.
1:00:32 > 1:00:36And now, sadly, it's time to end the show.
1:00:39 > 1:00:41Looking back over 50 years of Bond,
1:00:41 > 1:00:46yeah, there have been movies with maybe better car chases.
1:00:46 > 1:00:47Bullitt and Ronin.
1:00:48 > 1:00:54But I don't think anyone has done as much to give the cars character,
1:00:54 > 1:00:56to make them personalities in their own right.
1:00:56 > 1:01:00And I don't think anyone has done so many amazing things with cars
1:01:00 > 1:01:02and done them for real.
1:01:02 > 1:01:06Basically, I'm saying I don't think anyone has done as much as the Bond people
1:01:06 > 1:01:10to make sure cars have their own plinth in the cinema hall of fame.
1:01:12 > 1:01:14Thanks for watching, and goodbye!
1:01:18 > 1:01:20Yeah, that is a leak now.
1:01:20 > 1:01:21I... I'm...
1:01:22 > 1:01:26ORCHESTRAL MUSIC: "We Have All The Time In The World"
1:01:47 > 1:01:50Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd