SPECTRUM Analysis. Brutal Crash Test: Agent’s 007 Smashed Sports Cars

From one film into another James Bond drives the most expensive, fast and modern cars. And at the same time, the fate of many supercars becomes sealed at the very moment Agent 007 gets the steering wheel. The latest movie of James Bond saga is not an exception.

Wide Spectrum

The new Bond film’s total budget is $ 270 million. The money has been primarily spent on the fees to such pricey actors as Daniel Craig (by the way, it was his last film in the saga), Christoph Waltz who has become very popular after the films by Quentin Tarantino, elegant Lea Seydoux, and charming Monica Bellucci who appears in the film only for a couple of minutes, but certainly not on a voluntary basis.

Some of the money was spent on staff salaries, filming and promotion. However, the most considerable item in the “007: Spectre” budget was the cars used in the new series of the super-agent Bond adventures.

In total “007: Spectre” film makers spent $37 million on cars. At the same time, the majority of those cars appeared on the screen for no more than three minutes. And some of them were just crashed within the first minutes of the film. Nevertheless, almost every of those cars deserve a separate story.

Aston Martin DB10

The main intrigue of the James Bond saga new episode “007: Spectre” is the supercar Aston Martin DB10, made on the V8 Vantage chassis and exclusively elaborated for the shooting. The car has a longer wheelbase and a wide track, like the one Aston Martin One-77 has. Under the bonnet another Bond’s “assistant” has a gasoline 4.7 liter V8, 436 horsepower engine accompanied by a six-gear manual transmission.

Altogether 10 cars were assembled for the film, but only three of them have managed to survive the shooting. There is no surprise, just recall the moment when one of the cars was rushing down the high stairs at full speed. One of the three survived cars has gone to the EON Productions Company, and a second one has been logically taken by the Aston Martin Company itself.

A third survived specimen will be traditionally put up for auction. At what price the unique sports car will be sold is still uncertain, but what is known – the starting bid price is going to be $1.5 million. By the way, in 2010 the similar unique Aston Martin DB5 was sold for $4.6 million. DB5 was the first model with which, the creators of James Bond series and the legendary British manufacturer of sports cars began their collaboration in the 1964 film “Goldfinger”.

Jaguar C-X75

The participation of another British manufacturer in the next James Bond film was not a debut. Jaguar Company has provided the current series main villain, played by two-time Oscar winner Christoph Waltz, with its product. For racing through Vatican streets he has got the conceptual model of Jaguar C-X75.

Unlike the protagonist’s car, Jaguar C-X75 has not been developed specially for the film. Moreover, this prototype is old enough. Initially, it was produced to celebrate the 75th anniversary of Jaguar and was unveiled by the British company at the Paris Motor Show in 2010. There it was awarded by “AutoWeek” magazine “Best in Show” prize and by Louis Vuitton Classic Concept Award premium as the best concept car of the year.

Back then the development and serial production of the hybrid sports cars were discussed at Jaguar. 850-horsepower C-X75 was the prototype of such cars. However, soon the company encountered financial issues, and the project was suspended. Nevertheless, the British promised that its concept would be used as a basis for the further Jaguar technologies investigation and development.

Concept C-X75 cockpit is made entirely of carbon fiber, that has allowed to make an incredibly light and yet rigid body of the vehicle. To achieve the effect, superfine carbon fiber is woven into fabric, then thoroughly impregnated with the resin and annealed under specific temperature and pressure conditions. The result of such process is incredibly durable body material.

Jaguar’s C-X75 performances are also impressive. It accelerates from zero to 100 km/h just in 3 seconds and to a speed of 160 km/h in less than 6 seconds. With all its dynamic behavior and a top speed of over 320 km/h, C-X75 is also an economical hybrid concept which can run about 50 kilometers using only electric power. By the way, in the previous issue a similar hybrid hyper-car was described. It was the stock vehicle Porsche 918 Spyder. However, James Bond has not got it.

Range Rover Sport SVR and Land Rover Defender

In addition to the unique Jaguar C-X75 concept, in the 24th film of James Bond saga there are some stock cars of this British make. For instance, in one scene, a bright and dynamic pursuit in the Austrian Alps takes place. It features Range Rover Sport SVR and a couple of Land Rover Defenders which have been exclusively developed for the next film of the saga and seriously prepared for the off-road conditions.

According to the film script all of them belong to the secret organization “Spectre” which is the source of the evil in the new movie. Besides, it is not the first film when British brand Jaguar Land Rover provides its cars to antiheroes. This time, their secret organization has been equipped with specially prepared Range Rover Sport SVR and Land Rover Defender which were presented for the first time at the last Frankfurt Motor Show.

Both cars have not just been specially prepared and got a reinforced suspension along with other off-road attributes and upgrades. They have been seriously prepared for the winter off-road. Land Rover Defender pickups have got huge 37-inch wheels with unique winter off-road tires. The chase does not seem incredible and fantastic considering the potential capacity of these cars. It rather seems exciting and realistic.

In general, the current film of the James Bond saga has left an ambivalent impression. It has vibrant and exciting chases with the most incredible supercars but a rather tedious script. Nevertheless, “007: Spectre” is an appropriate sequel of the James Bond saga. It completely proves the truth that a super-agent can do very little in his profession without a modern supercar.