The Spy Who Loved Cars: James Bond Movie Cars GalleryThe Spy Who Loved Cars: James Bond Movie Cars Gallery

The International Spy Museum has opened an exhibit dedicated to the various unusual vehicles employed by the fictitious super spy over the decades.

Dan Carney, Senior Editor

February 28, 2024

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Bond's modified Aston Martin in action in "No Time to Die."

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Bond's modified Aston Martin in action in "No Time to Die."EON Productions

Washington D.C.’s International Spy Museum relocated in 2019 to a new, larger facility close to the capital’s Smithsonian Museum district on the National Mall, and it is putting the extra space to work with the opening of “Bond in Motion,” an exhibit of the vehicles James Bond has used to thwart evil in the movie franchise.

The exhibit features cool British classics from Jaguar and Aston Martin, along with some BMWs that snuck into MI6’s arsenal during the Pierce Brosnan 007 years. There are also vehicles that Bond drove that he picked up along the way, such as the AMC Hornet bayou jump car from The Man With the Golden Gun and the three-wheeled Honda ATC 90 Bond rode in Diamonds are Forever.

It is not only wheeled transportation; Bond movie boats and aircraft are included. There are even two submarines! In all, "Bond in Motion" features 17 different vehicles for the exhibit, which was produced in cooperation with EON Productions Limited, Danjaq, and the Ian Fleming Foundation.

“The first taste the public gets of espionage is through pop culture – the movies, TV series, and books that animate our imaginations and encourage our audiences to dream big,” said Amanda Ohlke, Director of Adult Programming at the International Spy Museum. “Even real intelligence agencies devising spy tools have found inspiration through these captivating gadget-filled movies and vehicles, sometimes propelling fictional inventions from fantasy into reality.”

Related:Smithsonian's Air and Space Museum Looks at Life in the Space Age

Visitors can imagine that they are being held in a supervillain’s lair, where they have the opportunity to rap on the glass of the bad guy’s shark tank to see what happens. The museum also developed a pair of interactive touch-screen activities that let visitors equip a Bond car for a mission and stage driving stunts for the films using touch-screen systems.

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“Everyone has a favorite Bond car and these vehicles have been touchstones of contemporary culture for decades.” shares Kathryn Keane, Vice President of Exhibitions and Collections at the International Spy Museum. “The vehicles in this new exhibit are as inventive and cool as the very real gadgets and tools we display in the Spy Museum. We’re thrilled to juxtapose these fantastic fictional feats of innovation with the premiere collection of authentic espionage artifacts in our permanent exhibit.”

007’s most famous car, his 1964 Aston Martin DB5, is not actually part of the exhibit. Bond, and that armed Aston, are so relevant to spycraft that the car is a permanent exhibit at the museum, where it sits in the lobby, greeting all museum guests.

Related:The Petersen Museum Is Showing the Coolest Classic Porsches

Bond In Motion runs through April 2025 and costs $12 for admission separate from entry to the museum’s regular exhibits.

About the Author

Dan Carney

Senior Editor, Design News

Dan’s coverage of the auto industry over three decades has taken him to the racetracks, automotive engineering centers, vehicle simulators, wind tunnels, and crash-test labs of the world.

A member of the North American Car, Truck, and Utility of the Year jury, Dan also contributes car reviews to Popular Science magazine, serves on the International Engine of the Year jury, and has judged the collegiate Formula SAE competition.

Dan is a winner of the International Motor Press Association's Ken Purdy Award for automotive writing, as well as the National Motorsports Press Association's award for magazine writing and the Washington Automotive Press Association's Golden Quill award.

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He has held a Sports Car Club of America racing license since 1991, is an SCCA National race winner, two-time SCCA Runoffs competitor in Formula F, and an Old Dominion Region Driver of the Year award winner. Co-drove a Ford Focus 1.0-liter EcoBoost to 16 Federation Internationale de l’Automobile-accredited world speed records over distances from just under 1km to over 4,104km at the CERAM test circuit in Mortefontaine, France.

He was also a longtime contributor to the Society of Automotive Engineers' Automotive Engineering International magazine.

He specializes in analyzing technical developments, particularly in the areas of motorsports, efficiency, and safety.

He has been published in The New York Times, NBC News, Motor Trend, Popular Mechanics, The Washington Post, Hagerty, AutoTrader.com, Maxim, RaceCar Engineering, AutoWeek, Virginia Living, and others.

Dan has authored books on the Honda S2000 and Dodge Viper sports cars and contributed automotive content to the consumer finance book, Fight For Your Money.

He is a member and past president of the Washington Automotive Press Association and is a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers

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