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All 25 James Bond movies ranked only by their cars

There is no shortage of lists ranking the best James Bond movies. Ditto lists about the best or worst James Bond cars. I know, I've written some of them. As such, why not combine the two ideas into one new list that ranks all 25 official James Bond movies based exclusively on their cars, or more accurately their car content. I would then pull from my 25 years of James Bond nerddom plus the excellent "Bond Cars: The Definitive History" and our interview with long-time Bond special effects supervisor Chris Corbould to provide tidbits and factoids about the cars and their roles in the movies. And yes(!), this list now includes "No Time to Die," which impresses by adding plenty of car content to the series. It's now available on Blu-ray and download. To determine the list, I considered the inherent coolness of the cars as well as their importance to Bond, film and car history. I considered their importance to the story as well as the quality/excitement of the chases and scenes they participated in. Finally, I tried my best to divorce the car content from my opinions about the movies in general. That my personal list of best James movies looks nothing like this shows I was at least partially successful.     25. 'Moonraker' There are virtually no cars in "Moonraker." None. Oh, there's a gondola on wheels that makes a pigeon do a double-take, but that's not the same thing as a car. Neither is a golf cart. Or an ambulance. Or a space shuttle.   24. 'From Russia With Love' The literary James Bond mostly drove an ancient Bentley, and "From Russia with Love" is the only film in which it appears. It stays parked and the coolest thing that happens (by 1962 standards) is 007 answers its car phone. Thereafter, we get some old cars (even by 1962 standards) driving around Istanbul and a yellow truck. So yeah. Classic Bond film, a must-watch, just not for its car content.   23. 'Dr. No' History records that the first "Bond car" is the Sunbeam Alpine in "Dr. No." The car itself was literally borrowed from a Miss Jennifer Jackson of 53 Lady Musgrave Road in Jamaica for 10 pounds per day for two days during filming. Also, the stunt where it drove under an excavator blocking the road was entirely conceived because the filmmakers showed up to the road they intended to film on and discovered an excavator blocking the thing. Sadly, those are really the only two things interesting about the Alpine, which is a pretty small and dainty thing by Bond car standards.

Aston Martin shows its other half with new Lagonda Taraf sedan

It's been a long time since we've seen a new Lagonda, but here it is: the Taraf. Introduced a few months ago in Dubai, the new Aston Martin Lagonda Taraf has since been confirmed for wider availability outside of the Middle East – including Europe, though sadly not North America – and is making its major show debut here in Geneva. The Lagonda Taraf is based on familiar technology – built on Aston Martin's familiar VH platform and powered by the company's ubiquitous 6.0-liter V12 engine – but stretches longer than the more compact Rapide and with completely different styling than we've grown accustomed to seeing on modern Astons. Only 200 examples will be made, priced at what is sure to be a substantial premium befitting its scarcity and the revival of a long-dormant nameplate. All of which means that this represents a rare opportunity to see the new Lagonda up close... at least until Aston cooks up the next model to wear the badge. Related Video:

Bonham's will auction Paul McCartney's old Aston Martin DB5

At the company's Bond Street, London auction, Bonham's will offer a 1964 Aston Martin DB5 that is possibly one the most British cars around. Not only is it an example of a classic British sports car known for being driven by James Bond, this exact car was purchased new by Sir Paul McCartney. And as an added bonus, it was also previously owned by former Top Gear host Chris Evans. According to Bonham's, McCartney ordered the car after The Beatles appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show and after finishing the Hard Day's Night movie. It was originally finished in blue with a black leather interior, which you can see here. It came with a couple of nice touches for a musician, as well. It had a Philips Auto-Mignon automotive record player installed, one of which remains with the car. The auction company also mentions a rumor that the leather had stitched-in musical notes. McCartney kept the car for about six years after buying it in 1964, and he seemed to have driven it a fair bit. When the clutch was replaced in 1970, the odometer read a bit over 40,000 miles, which is impressive considering how much traveling McCartney was surely doing with The Beatles. The car changed hands a number of times in subsequent years. In 2002, it was restored and once again finished in blue with a black interior. It wasn't until its second restoration that started around 2012 and 2013 that the color scheme changed to silver with a dark red interior. That restoration wrapped up this year and included updates to the engine that increased displacement from 4.0 liters to 4.2 liters and upped compression. The results are an engine that jumped from 282 horsepower to 315 horsepower and from 280 pound-feet of torque to 305. The car will be auctioned on December 2 at the Bond Street auction in London. Bonham's predicts the car will go for between $1.6 million and $2 million. Interestingly, that's only a little above Hagerty Insurance's estimate of $1.4 million for a concours-quality DB5. It's also substantially more than the roughly $500,000 this exact car sold for back in 2012. Related Video: Featured Gallery 1964 Aston Martin DB5 owned by Paul McCartney View 13 Photos Image Credit: Bonhams Aston Martin Auctions Coupe Classics bonhams chris evans aston martin db5