- "007 has ruled the world of big-screen action heroes for 50 years now. To date, over a quarter of the planet's population has seen him going about his spectacular day job. The man is in a league of his own when it comes to watches, sharks and villains. And of course, no one can match him when its comes to his cars, which have enthralled us for generation after generation."
- ― Richard Hammond
Top Gear: Fifty Years of Bond Cars is a special on the Bond film franchise's first 50 years of automotive history with the release of Skyfall by the BAFTA- and Emmy Award-winning BBC motoring series. Hosted by regular co-presenter Richard Hammond, it first aired on October 29th, 2012 (between Series 18 and 19) and was watched by 5.5 million viewers.
Summary[]
Richard examines the various Bond cars in the first 50 years of the film franchise. This includes their characteristics, how they were chosen (including examining some of the novels), how they were gadgetized into spy cars, and the stunts they performed. He also interviews Bond cast and crew, including during a visit to the set of Skyfall while on location in Istanbul. Also, in Top Gear fashion, he attempts to recreate two of the technologies utilized by Bond cars.
Guests[]
- Daniel Craig
- Roger Moore
- Guy Hamilton
- Roger Becker, Lotus engineer and stunt driver in The Spy Who Loved Me
- Michael G. Wilson
- Ola Rapace
- Ben Collins (Craig's driving instructor and stunt driver in Quantum of Solace and Skyfall, also previously "The Stig", Top Gear's mute and stoic "tame racing driver")
Clips[]
 James Bond Style Submarine Lotus Drives Underwater - 50 Years of Bond Cars A Top Gear Special - BBC |
 TOP GEAR + SKYFALL Richard Hammond w James Bond - Sneak Peek |
The Featured Bond Cars[]
In relative order of appearance during the special. A car in bold indicates Richard drives it, while a car in italics indicates its name is not directly mentioned in the special.
Richard also discusses the AVE Mizar, a roadable aircraft utilizing a Ford Pinto, which was originally planned to appear in The Man with the Golden Gun as Scaramanga's flying car before it was involved in a fatal crash.