Bond Baddie To Drive Jaguar

Everyone knows James Bond drives an Aston Martin. But the cars in the next Bond film are going to make the Bond villains as cool as 007 himself. Jaguar and Land Rover have finally officially confirmed a slew of whips that—to my eyes at least—make being the bad guy look like a lot of fun:  The Jaguar C-X75, Range Rover Sport SVR, and Land Rover Defender Big Foot are all confirmed for starring roles in Spectre, the 24th installment of the James Bond series.

The original C-X75 debuted in 2010 with an 596kW engine. Its doors open up and out, like wings. Fan boys have speculated for months that the C-X75 concept they first saw in Paris would provide the foil for that Aston Martin, but Jaguar today confirmed the color (a burnt orange) and more details of its role, affirming that its hybrid motor would be replaced with a 5.0-liter V8 conventional engine. The C-X75 follows a distinguished line of other British-made Bond villain cars like the Rolls-Royce Phantom III in Goldfinger and the Jaguar XKR convertible complete with Gatling gun and mortars in Die Another Day.

What’s more, earth-wrecking military rigs like the SVR and Big Foot have plenty of precedent in Bond films—despite 007’s general association with the gentility of Aston Martin and Saville Row. Moneypenny drove a Defender 110 Double Cab truck during the opening sequence of Skyfall. In Tomorrow Never Dies Elliot Carver chased Bond through the streets of Saigon in a Range Rover P38A; Bond stole a Range Rover Sport in Casino Royale as last-minute trick to set off car alarms. There was even a Range Rover Classic convertible in Octopussy.

The Defender Big Foot Series of trucks is modified by Land Rover Special Vehicles. This one was used recently on the ice fields of Finland. In fact, Spectre director Sam Mendes has already filmed scenes involving heavily modified Defenders and Range Rover Sports in Austria. The trucks have 37-inch tires, bespoke suspension systems and police-fleet level specialised security systems; each will also figure prominently in car chases through Rome alongside the Aston Martin DB10 already confirmed as Bond’s own.

You can imagine the havoc. Spectre will open in theatres this November.

-Hannah Elliott