The 5 Coolest James Bond Cars That Cameo In 007: Road To A Million
James Bond is the most famous fictional spy of all time, and in Amazon Prime Video's newest game show, "007: Road To A Million," nine pairs of normal people get a chance to travel the world in the hopes of overcoming Bond-esque challenges and taking home the $1 million prize. Hosted by Brian Cox — an unseen figure doing his best Bond villain impression and known only to the contestants as the "Controller" — the show leans into spy tropes and archetypes inspired by the franchise, while also showing off some very cool cars.
With an entire globe to traverse, a few of Bond's favorite automobiles make cameos throughout the show's eight episodes. Some appeared in the films and still bear the battle scars sustained during their on-screen work. Meanwhile, others are there merely as a tip of the cap to Bond and his eternal love of fast cars armed with cool gadgets. Here's a look at five of Bond's coolest rides that appear in the series.
The Rolls-Royce Phantom III was also seen in Goldfinger
Episode 1 follows brothers Joey and James Bone on a quest through the Scottish highlands as they attempt to correctly answer 10 questions. They stop in a Scottish garage brings them into contact with several of the vehicles used in the creation of the Bond franchise. The most famous is the 1937 Rolls-Royce Phantom III, which was used in 1964's "Goldfinger," starring Sean Connery as the legendary spy.
The car is beautiful, but it's built for strength, not speed. Weighing in at 8,000 pounds, the Phantom III maxes out at 87 miles per hour. In the film, bullion dealer Auric Goldfinger uses the model to illegally transport gold out of England. Sharp-eyed viewers may notice that the car used in the film bears a license plate reading AU 1, a nod to gold's symbol on the periodic table and the first two letters of Auric's name.
The Jaguar C-X75 appears in Spectre, and the Land Rover Series III features in two films
There are two notable James Bond car cameos in Episode 3. Nurses Beth Foxwell and Jenny Dorward enter the Lochcarron Garage, where they find the Jaguar C-X75 and the Land Rover Series III. The Jaguar can be seen in 2015's "Spectre" in one of the film's chase scenes. As James Bond (Daniel Craig) escapes a SPECTRE meeting in an Aston Martin DB10, he is pursued through Rome by a villain named Hinx (Dave Bautista), who is driving the Jaguar. The car the nurses climb into is the one used in the film, and it still sports the damage sustained when Bond uses his car's flamethrowers to set the Jaguar ablaze, before plunging his own vehicle into the river.
Visible in the shot behind the Jaguar is the Land Rover Series III, which Bond uses in two films. In 1987's "The Living Daylights," Bond (Timothy Dalton) drives the car in a pre-title sequence set in Gibraltar. In 2021's "No Time To Die," Craig's Bond drives the Series III through Jamaica.
The Range Rover Sport has appeared in multiple films
The production teams behind the modern James Bond films love a Range Rover, as evidenced by the fact that the Range Rover Sport has appeared in four of Daniel Craig's five movies: "Casino Royale" (2006), "Quantum of Solace" (2008), "Spectre" (2015), and "No Time to Die" (2021). In Episode 4, married couple Josh Ali and Kamara Davis drive a Range Rover Sport 166 kilometers through the Chilean desert. This is a desert that is not unlike the one Bond travels through in "Quantum of Solace" right before he and Camille (Olga Kurylenko) hop on a plane in search of more information about Dominic Green's Tierra Project.
In "No Time to Die," the Range Rover features prominently in an off-roading chase sequence when Bond, driving an early 2000s Toyota Land Cruiser, is chased by two Range Rover Sport SVRs. In an interview with Motor Authority, Neil Layton, the film's action vehicle supervisor-coordinator, shared that six SVRs were used to film the scene, and two didn't make it out alive.
The Volkswagen Beetle is featured in films from the '60s to the aughts
The Volkswagen Beetle may be most closely associated with hippie culture, but the car — which was first produced in 1938 — has found its way into both the James Bond franchise, as well as Episode 6 of "Road To A Million." In the show, the Beetle pops up when a father and son duo, James and Sam O'Neil, are assigned to drive one during their time in Chile.
The movie series features a more diverse array of Beetle sightings. The vehicle was first used in "On Her Majesty's Secret Service" (1969), when Bond (George Lazenby) is followed by Agent Shaun Campbell (Bernard Horsfall). The car is also present in 1983's "Octopussy," when Bond (Roger Moore) is picked up by a German couple after a battle sequence on a circus train rooftop. Bond fans saw the car most recently when Camille uses one in 2008's "Quantum of Solace" to give Bond a lift in La Paz, Bolivia after he escapes from the Grand Hotel.
The Aston Martin DB5 is the car best associated with the franchise
A martini shaken not stirred is James Bond's drink of choice and the Aston Martin DB5 is his preferred car. The vehicle has appeared in nine James Bond movies, making its debut in 1964's "Goldfinger," before joining the spy on screen in "Thunderball" (1965), "GoldenEye" (1995), "Tomorrow Never Dies" (1997), "The World is Not Enough" (1999), "Casino Royale" (2006), "Skyfall" (2012), "Spectre" (2015), and "No Time to Die" (2021).
Known for being tricked out with all the best spy gadgetry, including tracking devices, smoke screens, bullet-proof glass, and mini-guns, the Aston Martin DB5 took a 30-year hiatus from the franchise between 1965 and 1995. Since then, it has appeared in every modern James Bond movie, with the exceptions of "Die Another Day" (2002) and "Quantum of Solace" (2008).
"Road To A Million" viewers have to wait until Episode 8 — the last episode in the series — for the car to make its debut. Nurses Beth Foxwell and Jenny Dorward are given the key to the DB5 for their journey to the Swiss village of Grindelwald.