2 weeks ago
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One of the first ‘Bond cars’ didn’t technically exist as a production model, but there’s now an impression of one on British roads complete with machine gun buttons, hidden compartments and smokescreen switches.
A James Bond fan has built his own version of ‘The Locomotive’ roadster driven by the famous British spy in Ian Fleming’s books after finding he couldn’t buy one – as the model did not officially exist in the real world.
Fleming first introduced James Bond in the 1953 book Casino Royale, with the spy first appearing on the silver screen when actor Sean Connery played the character in the 1962 film Dr No.
The cavalier Bond’s appeal carried over to the cars he drove – and while the secret agent is now most famously associated with the Aston Martin brand, he wasn’t at the wheel of one in Fleming’s original Bond novels.
In fact, Agent 007 drove a Bentley, dubbed ‘the most selfish car in England’ in Fleming’s 1961 novel Thunderball, as YouTube classic car channel Number27 explained.
“Why is it that the Bentley never appeared in any of the films? Well one reason might be that this particular car never existed in reality – until now,” host Jack Pegoraro said.
Bond drove the Bentley – dubbed ‘The Locomotive’ by the secret agent in the books – in Thunderball, The Living Daylights short story (1962) and the novel On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1963).
When car designer Troy Hunter – a long-time Bond fan – wanted to drive a Bond Bentley there wasn’t one to buy, as the ‘Continental Mark II’ the books said the car was based upon was never a real road-going Bentley model.
“Being a car designer, the only way I was going to get the experience was to build it myself,” Mr Hunter said in the clip, which shows what is now the only version of The Locomotive to have ever existed in the real world.
Mr Hunter – a car designer who has worked for BMW, Volvo, Jaguar and Land Rover during his career – started with a Bentley Type R and transformed it from a saloon car into a spy-worthy roadster.
“I tried to think of the customer; what might Bond have wanted.”
The body of the car is made of lightweight aluminium and was designed by Mr Hunter, with some personal interpretations such as the bonnet louvres, a nod to the other Bond Bentleys in the books.
“The thinking behind the shape was, I was trying to imagine what might’ve been built based on what [British coachbuilders] Mulliner were doing [at the time] and also what Fleming was describing,” Mr Hunter said.
That sees styling Fleming described as somewhere between a Bentley Continental and a Ford Thunderbird.
“I did ignore his [Fleming’s] comment about it being rather ugly – because I am a designer and we can’t deliberately do those – [but] I did try and definitely give it that hint of a sharp edge and aerodynamic look as well.”
It is far from the first car ever driven by Bond in Fleming's books, a 1931 4.5-litre Bentley Blower (below).
Bond book-inspired touches include twin fuel fillers – meaning the car can be refuelled from either side – but there are more secret agent touches inside the woodgrain and leather-lined cabin.
“I figured Bond would have a number of secret compartments around the vehicle,” Mr Hunter said.
This includes a classic phone taken from an RAF (Royal Air Force) bomber – which is connected to a modern-day mobile – mounted in the centre console, where there’s also switches for left and right machine guns (not fitted), smokescreen and oil spray to fend off adversaries.
Another hidden compartment stows a bottle of Brandy and stamina pills, while a pair of goggles sits in the glovebox, something Bond did in the books in case the front windscreen was shot out.
The custom-built Bentley’s six-cylinder engine makes about 180hp (134kW) with Mr Hunter looking to fit a supercharger, something Bond did in the second time it appeared in the books.
There’s also a twist to the idea of the Continental Mark II’s existence – but we won’t ruin it, as the footage of this wonderful custom build is worth watching.
