James Bond's 12 Most Expensive Cars, Ranked
Of all the billion-dollar franchises in cinema history, "James Bond" is second only to "Fast & Furious" in its offerings of vicarious pleasure to motorheads. From very early on in its six-decade run, the "Bond" series has continuously spotlighted dashing high-end cars as an integral part of its hero's gruff-yet-glamorous global spy adventures. And, if you've ever wondered what the most high-end rides in "Bond" history are, we've come to you with an answer.
This list ranks James Bond's 12 most expensive cars in the history of the official Eon franchise, which comprises 25 total films. A few ground rules and guidelines: Only cars driven by Bond himself (or, on two particular occasions, hitched by him and driven by his companions, including his substitute as 007) are included. Only the value of the cars at the time of market introduction is considered, even if those cars were already vintage items by the time they showed up in the film in question — there's even a 1935 car in the mix. Although the "Bond" franchise is as British as five o'clock tea, original retail prices (taken from J.D. Power and other sources) are given in U.S. dollars, and then ajusted for inflation accordingly, with the ranking going by the inflation-adjusted figures. And, to better steep this ranking in the real world, Q-supplied gadgets are not factored in.
12. 1977 Lotus Esprit (The Spy Who Loved Me)
The third James Bond film overall, the third to star Roger Moore, and the second to be directed by Lewis Gilbert, 1977's "The Spy Who Loved Me" is notable not just for the secret behind-the-scenes assistance it got from Stanley Kubrick, but also for its focus on the Iron Curtain-crossing team-up and eventual romance between Bond and Soviet KGB agent Anya Amasova (Barbara Bach). In the Christopher Wood and Richard Maibaum-penned script, Bond and Amasova must join forces against shipping mogul and evil scientist Karl Stromberg (Curt Jurgens), who plans to destroy the world and build a new civilization underwater.
Amid the various gadgets used by Bond in his quest to stop Stromberg is one of the most iconic Bond cars ever: A 1977 Lotus Esprit retrofitted by Q (Desmond Llewelyn). Driven by Bond and Amasova during a frantic escape in Sardinia, Italy, the car turns into a submarine that allows them to go underwater.
The boldly-designed, longilineal Lotus Esprit was produced by British manufacturer Lotus Group for nearly three decades. The version of the Esprit seen in "The Spy Who Loved Me" was the very first one, and the Series 1 two-door coupe model had a manufacturer's suggested retail price (MSRP) of $15,990 upon its launch. Adjusted for inflation, that value would be equivalent to roughly $84,645 in the present day, placing the (regular, non-amphibian) 1977 Lotus Esprit as the 12th most expensive Bond car ever.
11. 1998 Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (No Time to Die)
Not every one of the most originally pricey Bond vehicles must necessarily be a luxury sports car, as evidenced by one of the rides in 2021's "No Time to Die." The 25th Bond film and the fifth and final to be headlined by Daniel Craig, Cary Joji Fukunaga's debut as director in the franchise was scripted by Fukunaga, Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Phoebe Waller-Bridge from a story by Purvis, Wade, and Fukunaga. It follows what amounts to a definitive, divisive swan song for Craig's Bond, as he is summoned by the CIA from his retirement in Jamaica to help stop dangerous bioterrorist Lyutsifer Safin (Rami Malek).
In the lead-up to the film's climax, Bond is chased through dirt roads and cliffside curves by Safin-aligned thugs, and, although it's the busiest bit of vehicular action in the film, the task at hand falls to an unusually unglamorous car: A beige 1998 model of the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado. Don't let the lack of pizzazz fool you, though: If its original launch price is considered, this version of the Land Cruiser Prado actually ranks among the costliest Bond cars. Back in 1998, the dependable Japanese SUV had an M.S.R.P. of $45,000, which would put its adjusted worth at $88,563 today. Not bad for an impromptu ride.
10. 1935 Bentley 3 ½ Liter (From Russia with Love)
One of the earliest of all Bond films, 1963's "From Russia with Love" is directed by Terence Young and stars Sean Connery much like its franchise-starting predecessor "Dr. No." In the Richard Maibaum and Johanna Harwood-penned plot, adapted directly (but not so stringently as to prevent the actors from going off-script) from 1957's "From Russia, with Love" by Ian Fleming, Bond travels to Istanbul, Turkey in search of a powerful decrypting machine. But it all turns out to be a trap set by SPECTRE, who are hellbent on revenge following Bond's killing of Dr. No (Joseph Wiseman) in the previous film.
Among the major introductions of "From Russia with Love" to the franchise is the very idea of a Bond car: For the first time, Bond is supplied with one such piece of hardware by the Q branch. And he starts out in style, too, driving a vintage Bentley 3 ½ Liter model all the way back from 1935.
Despite its old-fashioned look and the quaintness with which it kicks off Bond's automotive history, the Bentley 3 ½ Liter was a luxury sports car in its time, making it the perfect starting point for Bond cars as an institution. In fact, back in 1935, the model of the 3 ½ Liter driven by Bond in "From Russia" cost a whopping £1,100. If that doesn't sound like much, mind you, it translates to no less than $91,529 adjusted for inflation — which means it's still, to this day, the 10th most expensive Bond car in history.
9. 1964 Aston Martin DB5 (Goldfinger)
Towering above all other Bond films in history in terms of sheer iconicity, arguably, is 1964's "Goldfinger," the third Sean Connery-starring installment as well as the third overall. Written by Richard Maibaum and Paul Dehn and adapted from the eponymous Ian Fleming novel, it is the first of four movies in the franchise to be directed by Guy Hamilton, and notably introduced numerous "Bond" staples. The plot follows Bond across the pond as he attempts to stop Auric Goldfinger (Gert Fröbe) from carrying out a plan to contaminate the U.S. Bullion Depository.
In addition to its litany of peak Bond-isms — the most legendary theme song, the most legendary villain, the most legendary death trap (hello, laser beam scene!), the most legendary Bond girl in Honor Blackman's Pussy Galore — "Goldfinger" also sports maybe the most emblematic of all Bond cars. An aesthetic trademark of the character and a recurring star of numerous other Bond films, the Aston Martin DB5 roars onto the screen for the very first time in "Goldfinger." The 1964 model of the DB5, which became immensely popular in the '60s due to its association with Bond, went for $13,000 upon its original launch. That's equivalent to $134,527 in modern figures — a far cry from the astronomical prices of future Bond cars, but still enough to place it at 9th on this ranking.
8. 1969 Aston Martin DBS (On Her Majesty's Secret Service)
George Lazenby is the only actor in the history of the official Eon Productions "James Bond" movies to have been a one-off, headlining a single installment — in which he was cast without any prior film acting credits — in between two Sean Connery-starring ones. The installment in question was 1969's "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," an adaptation of the Ian Fleming book of the same name, scripted by Richard Maibaum and directed by Peter R. Hunt. In what is Christopher Nolan's favorite "James Bond" movie, Bond faces off against SPECTRE leader and recurring franchise arch-villain Ernst Stavro Blofeld (Telly Savalas), who would later be played by Christoph Waltz in the Daniel Craig era.
Continuing the association between the James Bond franchise and the Aston Martin brand, "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" features the high-end grand tourer known as the Aston Martin DBS — beautiful and sleek enough to make a strong impression even without appearing in any action sequences — as Lazenby's ride of choice.
Aston Martin manufactured only a few hundred units of the DBS between 1967 and 1972 before phasing them out to make room for the Aston Martin V8. The 1969 Aston Martin DBS seen in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service," in particular, had an original MSRP of $16,550, equivalent to $144,664 in modern-day inflation-adjusted bucks.
7. 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II (A View to a Kill)
The 14th Bond film as well as the seventh and last to star Roger Moore, 1985's John Glen-directed "A View to a Kill" is notable as one of the most negatively-received entries in the series' history; it was even Roger Moore's least favorite, although it does have its defenders and even passionate fans. Much of the criticism was directed at the conspicuousness of Moore's advanced age; he was 56 at the time of filming, a good decade and a half older than Sean Connery was when he retired from the role. Even so, there's plenty to love in the original Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson-scripted plot, which finds Bond attempting to thwart the plans of a tech industrialist (Christopher Walken) and his ruthless henchwoman (Grace Jones).
The rare example of a Bond film that didn't spring for showcasing any state-of-the-art luxury cars, "A View to a Kill" instead looked to the luxuries of the past. When Bond is posing as a horse dealer to infiltrate Max Zorin's farm alongside Sir Godfrey Tibbett (Patrick Macnee), the two men find themselves in a stylish 1962 Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud II. The overall Silver Cloud series was produced by Rolls-Royce between 1955 and 1966, with the Silver Cloud II line being introduced in 1959. The 1961-62 model used in the film first had an MSRP of $15,655; adjusting for inflation, that's equivalent to $167,961, i.e., the 7th biggest value ever for a Bond car.
6. 1997 BMW 750iL (Tomorrow Never Dies)
Pierce Brosnan's second time at bat, 1997's "Tomorrow Never Dies" finds director Roger Spottiswoode telling a wholly original story scripted by Bruce Feirstein, whose original draft had to be scrapped days before filming. In said story, Bond finds an unlikely enemy in a deranged media tycoon (Jonathan Pryce) who is determined to use his influence to turn world powers against each other and manipulate them into starting World War III. While working to stop him, Bond gets some help from Wai Lin (Michelle Yeoh), a highly skilled Chinese Ministry of State Security agent.
The '90s were a brand new world for 007, and there may be no clearer aesthetic indication of that than the franchise's embrace of BMW cars, signaling Bond's move more and more away from Cold War-era British traditionalism and towards a glamorous, snazzy internationalism. In "Tomorrow Never Dies," for one, Bond drives an opulent 1997 BMW 750iL while in Germany, complete with numerous gadgets that make it even fancier. The 750iL, part of BMW's flagship 7 Series, had an original going rate of $93,370 for its 1997 model; that makes its inflation-adjusted price tag a stunning $186,621.
5. 1999 BMW Z8 (The World Is Not Enough)
"The World Is Not Enough" was the only James Bond film to be directed by Michael Apted, and, like all chapters in the Pierce Brosnan era, it tells a fully original story. With a screenplay by Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Bruce Feirstein from a story by Purvis and Wade, the 1999 film follows Bond as he's tasked with protecting Elektra King (Sophie Marceau), the daughter of billionaire oil tycoon Sir Robert King, who's been murdered by the perilous terrorist and former KGB agent Victor "Renard" Zokas (Robert Carlyle).
The Pierce Brosnan installments were exercises in one-upping, with each one going bigger and aiming for a greater impression than the last, so it stands to reason that "The World Is Not Enough" should introduce an even more luxurious BMW car than the 750iL. Utterly striking in its smooth and edgeless visual design, the 1999 BMW Z8 gets destroyed partway through the film, but its legacy lives on in the hearts of all gearheads. In a rare moment of self-consciousness, Bond himself is even shown to be anxious about having to report the damage to Q (Desmond Llewelyn) — which is totally understandable when you consider that, even sans-gadgets, the 1999 BMW Z8 originally sold for $128,000, placing its inflation-adjusted worth at a mind-boggling $238,454.
4. 1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage (The Living Daylights)
Marking the beginning of the brief but memorable Timothy Dalton era, 1987's "The Living Daylights" ranks among the most underrated James Bond movies. It's loosely adapted from the eponymous Ian Fleming short story, with a script by Richard Maibaum and Michael G. Wilson and direction by John Glen in his fourth outing for the franchise. For his first onscreen mission, Dalton's Bond must help de-escalate Cold War tensions by locating new KGB head Leonid Pushkin (John Rhys-Davies) in Tangier, Morocco, and killing him, so as to put a stop to his newly instituted spy assassination policy.
In addition to introducing Timothy Dalton as Bond, "The Living Daylights" also marked the remarriage between the "Bond" franchise and the Aston Martin brand, following dalliances with Lotus in the previous two installments — and you'll notice that this list is nothing but Aston Martin from here on out. This time around, Bond drives an 1985 Aston Martin V8 Vantage — a high-performance upgrade of the automaker's already pretty expensive V8. The V8 Vantage had been in production since 1977, and the 1985 model seen in "The Living Daylights" had a massive original MSRP of $101,000. Adjusted for inflation, that's equivalent to $301,118, making it the fourth most expensive Bond car. In addition to embodying the slick, dark, ruthless efficiency of Dalton-era Bond, the V8 Vantage also joined the gallery of iconic Bond cars, even going on to make a special, sentimental appearance in "No Time to Die."
3. 2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera (No Time to Die)
The third most expensive Aston Martin car and third most expensive 007 vehicle of choice in the history of the "Bond" franchise is the 2020 Aston Martin DBS Superleggera, which makes an appearance in "No Time to Die" — the only movie that lands two cars on this list. Although it is technically a 007 service car, however, the DBS Superleggera isn't driven by Daniel Craig's Bond himself; instead, he gets a ride in it from his replacement as 007, Nomi (Lashana Lynch, who has stated that she would love to play her character again).
Despite its name, this contemporary grand tourer has little in common with the original Aston Martin DBS seen in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service." Instead, it's largely based on the DB11 from a few years prior. Introduced as a replacement for the discontinued second generation of the Aston Martin Vanquish, the DBS Superleggera was, for some time, the automaker's highest-end car, and the 2020 model seen in "No Time to Die" originally went for $304,995. In today's figures, that would roughly amount to $378,039.
2. 2002 Aston Martin V12 Vanquish (Die Another Day)
By the last film in Pierce Brosnan's run, 2002's "Die Another Day," the "James Bond" franchise had taken a pronounced turn towards busy, CGI-heavy blockbuster action, with increasingly conspicuous product placement to go along with it. As a result, critical reception to the Lee Tamahori-directed installment was decidedly mixed (/Film's own ranking places it as the worst James Bond movie), setting the stage for a full-fledged franchise reconfiguration in the Daniel Craig era. Even so, "Die Another Day," with its Neal Purvis and Robert Wade-penned story of a scary space weapon owned by a diamond magnate (Toby Stephens), became a huge worldwide hit.
As for the product placement, well, "Die Another Day" has the distinction of featuring the second most luxurious Bond car of all time, but it's sometimes hard to tell, what with how much time we spend not seeing it. Ironically, the ultra-costly Aston Martin V12 Vanquish is Bond's notorious Q-fitted camouflaging car, and its most memorable appearances as a scenic object are the ones in which it's completely invisible.
Still, when it does appear on screen for all to see, the V12 Vanquish epitomizes the film's spirit of expensive, high-production maximalism. The successor to the '90s Aston Martin Virage, the futuristic-looking V12 Vanquish originally had a manufacturer-suggested price tag of $228,000 attached to its 2002 model; given that was over 20 years ago, its inflation-adjusted price would now be $406,566.
1. 2007 Aston Martin DBS V12 (Casino Royale)
In virtually every respect, 2006's "Casino Royale" was a renovation. The first of five "James Bond" films to star Daniel Craig, the twenty-first overall in the series, and still the best James Bond movie to many, this brainchild of screenwriters Neal Purvis, Robert Wade, and Paul Haggis and director Martin Campbell went back to the drawing board, adapting Ian Fleming's very first "James Bond" novel. Campbell, Craig, and the writers gave the character and the "Bond" milieu a whole new spin, inoculating somberness, complexity, and vulnerability into the story of a high-stakes poker tournament where Bond must stop terrorist-servicing private banker Le Chiffre (Mads Mikkelsen) from winning big.
Appropriately for a story that traffics in gigantic sums and ultra-high-stakes gambling, "Casino Royale" features the most expensive James Bond car ever. We're referring, of course, to the Aston Martin DBS V12, which took over from the V12 Vanquish as the brand's flagship model. Driven by Bond while he's stationed in Montenegro, the DBS V12 is equipped only with a defibrillator and a spare gun — in this story, Bond is still a rookie with limited gadget privileges. Even so, for a rookie, he sure managed to get his hands on a fancy set of wheels: The 2007 Aston Martin DBS V12 had an M.S.R.P. of $265,000. Adjusted for inflation, that would amount to $410,002 today — narrowly edging out the V12 Vanquish as the highest price tag of any Bond vehicle in history. And Bond still wrecks it on screen.