The latest James Bond installment has Daniel Craig driving a handful of cars, among them the new Aston Martin DBS — which unfortunately saw just a few minutes of screen time — as well as a vintage Aston Martin DB5, a Ford Mondeo and a Land Rover Range Rover Sport.
Ford owns all these brands. Do we smell a tie-in? Indeed, Ford spokeswoman Whitney Drake confirmed the automaker struck a product placement deal with Sony Pictures. Drake said Ford was able to use much of its portfolio throughout the movie. That explains the Range Rover Sport that Craig humorously crashes at a Bahamas resort, as well as the Jaguar XJRs and Land Rover Defenders driven by some of the film’s more unscrupulous characters. There’s also a cadre of late-‘90s Ford Explorers used for cannon fodder at the Miami airport – no doubt much cheaper to wreck than the Aston Martin DBS that Bond destroys later on.
Drake said “Casino Royale” is the 17th Bond movie that Ford has played a part in. The Mondeo is an on-screen debut of the redesigned European model, though it won’t make it stateside. It’s not the first time Ford has pulled that stunt: Way back in 1976, “The Spy Who Loved Me” featured a brief glimpse of the Ford Taunus-Cortina, which would debut in Britain soon after.
Other cars that 007 has driven — and frequently damaged — include the BMW 750i, Lotus Esprit and Toyota 2000 GT. Drop a note below on which Bond cars you think are the best, or which cars you’d like to see in future installments. And be sure to check out our top 007 picks here.
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