Insider
The Vehicles Of Timothy Dalton’s 007
Planes, jeeps, and cello cases.
Timothy Dalton’s 007 adventures traversed the gamut of exciting vehicles. From gadget-laden cars to high-tech ships to heavy-duty aircraft (not to mention one unforgettable cello case), Bond’s many modes of transport have added different textures and colour to the drama. Here are seven of the Dalton era’s most dynamic rides.
LAND ROVER 88 SERIES III
AS SEEN IN: The Living Daylights
THE VEHICLE: The Land Rover 88 Series III is a munitions truck, part of a series designed by the Rover group. The series I was designed as a response to the American jeep during World War 2.
THE ACTION: Bond is participating in a training exercise penetrating radar installations in Gibraltar with fellow MI6 agents 004 and 002. During manoeuvres, 004 is killed by an assassin who steals a Land Rover and speeds off. 007 gives chase and leaps onto the roof. When the Land Rover crashes through a checkpoint, a soldier fires at the vehicle, igniting crates filled with explosives stacked in the back. With the burning vehicle careering around the cliffs, Bond cuts through the canvas roof with a combat knife and begins tussling with the driver.
The increasingly out of control Land Rover crashes through newsstands, alfresco restaurants, and a Volkswagen Beetle before flying off the cliff edge towards the sea. Bond escapes by engaging his parachute and flying out of the rear compartment as the jeep spectacularly blows up in a mid-air explosion.
ASTON MARTIN V8 VANTAGE VOLANTE
AS SEEN IN: The Living Daylights
THE VEHICLE: Aston Martin returned for the series for the first time since On Her Majesty’s Secret Service with the V8 Vantage, the production sourced three Vantages for use in the filming.
THE ACTION: Pursued by the KGB and Slovak police, Bond (Timothy Dalton) and cellist Kara Milovy (Maryam d’Abo) speed to the border between Bratislava and Austria. During the chase, Bond unleashes a plethora of Q Dept’s hidden gadgets; a laser beam installed in the hubcap (which removes a police car from its axel), retractable skis and spiked tyres to help movement across the ice; bulletproof windows, front mounted rockets (hidden behind the fog lights) and a rocket booster to give the car an extra lift. The car also has a self-destruct mechanism that Bond activates when the Slovak police approach.
CELLO CASE
AS SEEN IN: The Living Daylights
THE VEHICLE: The girlfriend of the villainous Koskov (Jeroen Krabbe), Kara Milovy, is a world-class cellist. Her bulky cello and its case might initially have been a hindrance — “Why didn’t you learn the violin?” quips Bond — but it proved to be a lifesaver.
THE ACTION: Heading for the Austrian border, Bond’s Aston Martin loses its skis and comes to a sudden stop in the snow. Exiting the car, Bond and Kara come under heavy fire, so 007 takes the cello case and improvises into a toboggan, using the cello as a rudder. Reaching the Austrian border, Bond tosses the cello over the barriers, quipping, “Nothing to declare!” It’s no way to treat a Stradivarius.
LOCKHEED C-130 HERCULES
AS SEEN IN: The Living Daylights
THE VEHICLE: A four-engine cargo aircraft, the Hercules appeared in You Only Live Twice before its starring role in The Living Daylights. The aircraft appears twice, firstly as the RAF plane used to drop the 00 agents into Gibraltar but takes a more substantial role during the siege at the Soviet airbase in Afghanistan.
THE ACTION: Helped by the Mujahideen, Bond and Kara infiltrate an air base to plant a bomb in a Hercules carrying a large shipment of opium waiting to be sold by Koskov and Whitaker (Joe Don Baker). Bond hijacks the plane, and Kara assumes control as he defuses the bomb. Meanwhile, mercenary-for-hire Necros (Andreas Wisniewski) has stowed away onboard and charges at Bond. The threat is heightened when Kara accidentally opens the cargo doors. The two men are sucked out of the plane, hanging onto the net holding the opium for dear life — as Necros hangs from 007’s boots, Bond cuts the laces, and the assailant plunges to his death.
But the danger isn’t over, even after Bond manages to utilise the bomb to drop it on Soviet soldiers fighting the Mujahideen. Machine gunfire from the ground battle punctures the fuel tank, and the Hercules plummets to the ground. Bond quickly improvises an escape. Pulling the release chute on a jeep in the hold, Bond and Kara exit the aircraft as it crashes into Pakistan airspace. When the dust and the vehicle settle, 007 suggests he knows a good restaurant in Karachi, and the pair head off for dinner.
THE WAVEKREST
AS SEEN IN: Licence To Kill
THE VEHICLE: First appearing in the Ian Fleming short story The Hildebrandt Rarity as a luxurious cruiser, the Wavekrest in Licence To Kill is a drug emporium masquerading as a marine research vessel.
THE ACTION: The Wavekrest is owned by the businessman and drug smuggler Milton Krest (Anthony Zerbe). The ship contains a luxurious state room and pieces of oceanographic research equipment used to mask its purpose of smuggling cocaine. The vessel also plays host to an unmanned, remotely-controlled underwater vehicle that is deployed to transfer narcotics and money in concealed compartments.
On the trail of drug kingpin, Franz Sanchez (Robert Davi), Bond infiltrates the ship and scuppers the drug lord’s latest shipment, stealing five million dollars. Later, Bond reboards the Wavekrest and sets up Krest by placing the missing millions into the ship’s hyperbaric chamber. When Sanchez discovers the money, he entraps Krest in the chamber and, with an axe, rapidly depressurises the chamber, dispatching Krest to a grisly demise.
THE KENWORTH W-900
AS SEEN IN: Licence To Kill
THE VEHICLES: A fleet of trailer trucks used by Franz Sanchez to hide and transport illegal drugs. Sanchez uses a clandestine drug lab to dissolve 20 tonnes of cocaine into petrol shipments — the drug lord provides a process to separate the drugs from the petrol and solidify them for resale.
THE ACTION: After Bond destroys the lab converting the cocaine to petrol, Sanchez orders four trucks to transport the narcotics, joining the procession in a Maserati. In a Piper Super Club, flown by CIA agent Pam Bouvier (Cary Lowell), Bond tracks the trucks, leaping from the plane onto the top of a Kenworth trailer. Ejecting the driver from the cabin, Bond sets out to disrupt the convoy. Evading a Stinger Missile by jacking the vehicle on its side, Bond then takes out the next Kenworth by decoupling the tanker and rolling it down the hill so it collides into the third tanker, causing a huge explosion.
Driving through the resulting fire by lifting the engine in the air, Bond is on the tail of Sanchez, who has commandeered the remaining truck. Bond scrambles onto Sanchez’s tanker, opening the valve to let the diluted drug stash pour out onto the road, creating a trail of fire. As 007 climbs towards the truck’s cabin, Sanchez’s henchman slams on the brakes, forcing Bond to fall forward. The truck moves off again, with Sanchez chasing Bond with a machete. The pair fight as the Kenworth, with its driver having bailed, topples over down a steep bank, leaving Bond and Sanchez dazed but ready for a final duel.
PIPER SUPER CUB
AS SEEN IN: Licence To Kill
THE VEHICLE: A two-seat single-engine monoplane flown by CIA agent Pam Bouvier that plays a pivotal role in helping Bond stop Sanchez’s convoy.
THE ACTION: During the hunt for Sanchez, Bond and Bouvier arrive in Isthmus in a Beechcraft B55 Baron aircraft, which is later dismantled by Sanchez’s men to stop the CIA agent following Bond to Sanchez’s cartel operation. Bouvier steals the Piper Super Cub to continue the chase, and after Bond destroys the lab, gives him a ride to pursue the tanker convoy.
During the pursuit, she saves Bond’s life by dropping dust on Sanchez’s men as they move in for the kill. Later in the chase, Sanchez blows a hole in the Piper’s tail, forcing the plane to crash into the rocks, breaking off the wings. Showing her facility with a very different kind of vehicle, Pam shows up in the last remaining Kenworth tanker truck to pick up an exhausted Bond after he has defeated Sanchez.
