Ten Bond-film cars that sold for well above the model’s average value

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With the public this weekend set to flock to cinemas across the country to enjoy Daniel Craig’s final appearance as 007 in ‘No Time to Die‘, we thought it was the ideal time to take a look back at cars that have appeared in Bond films and then sold for astonishing amounts of money.

We’ve teamed up with classic car valuations analysts at Hagerty to compare the values of ten genuine cars used during the production of the famous Bond franchise that went to the block at a later date.

Historical data means we can compare the sale price of the Bond-film car to the average value of the model at the time the hammer dropped. And it shows that a starring role in one of the 25 franchise movies can add over 5,000 per cent in value to a vehicle. 

Because Hagerty monitors and tracks thousands of auction, dealer and private sales every year, it has been able to provide us with average sale prices for standard cars to compare with the huge fees paid at auction for examples that featured in Bond hits.

All sale prices have been converted using the exchange rate for that time, then compared guide values for those cars that year. 

Where the sale was before Hagerty’s records began, it arrived at a value through contemporary sales listings and other valuation resources.

In reverse order, these are the 10 models that have commanded the highest premium thanks to a big-screen appearance in a Bond blockbuster.

10. 1971 Ford Mustang Mach 1

Bond film appearance: Diamonds Are Forever (1971)

The red Ford Mustang Mach 1 driven by Tiffany Case certainly grabbed attention when it roared onto the big screen in the 1971 movie Diamonds are Forever.

However, it didn’t set collectors’ pulses racing when it was offered by Barrett-Jackson auctions in 2004. In fact, the hammer failed to drop for the Mustang as bidding didn’t reach its sale reserve. A top bid of $23,000 (£12,650) was as high as paddle-raising went.

Despite not changing hands, the top bid was 37.5 per cent more than a standard Mach 1 was worth at the time. Yet its unsold status means it is bottom of this list.

9. 1991 Mercedes-Benz 190E

Bond film appearance: No Time To Die (2021)

Despite being a 1990s Merc, this is the model in our list that most recently appears in a Bond film. In fact, it debuted on the silver screen this week. 

It is currently for sale on classified advert site Car and Classic. It is a surviving motor from filming of No Time to Die. However, [as we’ve not seen it yet] we’re unaware of how prevalent it is in the movie, with the 190E not even featuring in the trailers. 

Despite its unknown fame levels, the price tag placed on the car is nearly 40 per cent higher than a standard 1991 Mercedes saloon.

8. 1937 Bentley 4 ¼-Litre Gurney Nutting 3-Position DHC

Bond film appearance: Never Say Never Again (1983) 

Sean Connery as Bond drove this car in a number of scenes in the 1983 Warner Brothers blockbuster Never Say Never Again in 1983.

It sold for £188,500 when it was auctioned by Bonhams in September 2004, yet just six years later returned to the sale room and earned its then vendor a healthy profit.

The second time around – again at a Bonhams sale – it achieved £221,500, which is over two thirds more than a standard model was worth of the time. Hagerty says this specific car is quite the star: not only did it have the Bond connection, but it also appeared in Magnum, P.I. and was a true concours example, wowing onlookers at Pebble Beach in 2003 following a restoration that reportedly cost in excess of $450,000.

7. 1969 Aston Martin DBS-6

Bond film appearance: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

James Bond has only been married once, and this was his wedding car of choice. Used in a number of scenes in the 1969 movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, the green six-cylinder Aston Martin DBS was exported to Australia after filming ended and was last sold in 1978 to the current owner, Sigi Zidziunas.

He who told ABC News in Australia: ‘It was advertised in the paper as an ex-film car, but I didn’t believe it, because — no offence — who believes used car salesmen?’

Even then, it was expensive. Advertised at $14,950 AUD, Zidziunas paid a sum of $14,200 in ’78 – the equivalent of £8,991. Standard cars in good condition were then worth £3,050 according to contemporary guides: that’s a 182 per cent premium.

6. 2008 Aston Martin DBS V12

Bond film appearance: Quantum of Solace (2008)

Driven by Daniel Craig in Quantum of Solace, this 2008 Aston Martin DBS was one of seven used for filming – though not one of two that were trashed during the film’s opening sequence with Bond being pursued by two chasing Alfa Romeo 159s. 

Described as a ‘collector’s item’ by the selling auction house, Christie’s, it warned potential buyers that they were responsible for ‘all tests and repairs and any other legally required formalities’ to turn it back into a road car. 

The caution did little to deter Aston Martin fans and Bond enthusiasts who tussled to to post a winning bid. It eventually smashed its top pre-sale estimate of £150,000, selling for £241,250 – some 245 per cent above what a standard car was worth at the time.

5. 1969 Mercury Cougar XR7

Bond film appearance: On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (1969)

The Contessa Teresa Di Vicenzo, also known as Tracy Bond, drove a stunning car throughout the 1969 movie On Her Majesty’s Secret Service including the first scene which it shared with the Aston Martin DBS-6 described above. 

One of a reported four Mercury Cougars used for filming was recently offered at the Bonhams Bond Street Sale in London on 16 December 2020. It – fitted with its ski rack and skis – sold for a massive £365,500, which was well above the pre-sale estimate of £100,000 to £150,000. 

It was also a huge 559 per cent higher than the average standard price for the model a year ago.

4. 1965 Aston Martin DB5

Bond film appearance: Goldfinger (1964) and Thunderball (1965)

Billed as the ‘most famous car in the world’ when offered for auction in 2019 by RM Sotheby’s, this was the real deal: one of two cars purchased by Eon Productions for the launch of Thunderball but then converted to ‘Q Branch’ specification for its appearance in Goldfinger a year earlier.

It sold just over its top estimate for $6.38million, which at the time was £4.67million in British pounds. It confirmed a mark-up of 759 per cent over the value of a ‘standard’ DB5 at the time. 

In this case, provenance was everything: a similar DB5 that has been used as a stunt car in the filming of Golden Eye was sold by Bonhams the previous year, but it ‘only’ made £1,961,500, just over three times the value of a standard model.

3. 2014 Land Rover Defender 110 Double Cab SVX

Bond film appearance: Spectre (2015) 

RM Sotheby’s sold one of a selection of special Bond SVX Defender 110s that featured in the chase scene of 2015 film Spectre for £230,000. The following July a second example was taken to the block and hit a whopping £365,000. 

The timing of the sale played a huge part in the incredibly high sale price. Production of the original Defender had ended in 2016. However, in 2018 Jaguar Land Rover commissioned a short run of 70th Anniversary specials, sending demand for the model sky-high. 

The price of the Bonhams example was nearly 940 per cent higher than a standard 110 Defender – and it’s as cool as the frozen Austrian landscape where it was used to chase down Daniel Craig as 007 in a crashing plane.

2. 1974 AMC Hornet

Bond film appearance: The Man With The Golden Gun (1974)

Ask any Bond nut to name the franchise’s biggest stunt and the corkscrew ‘Astro Spiral’ jump in the Roger Moore 1974 movie The Man with the Golden Gun will be right at the top of the list. 

The American-made car used was an unlikely hero by 007 standards. In fact, the AMC Hornet is still considered so mundane that even the US Hagerty Price Guide doesn’t deem it worthy of inclusion of its regular valuation review. 

But the genuine car used in filming was very special – and extremely sought after. Having been maintained exactly as it was during filming, it sold at RM Sotheby’s Auburn, Indiana sale in 2017 for $110,000 (£89,105) – in excess of 1,600 per cent over the value of a standard car.

1. 1977 Lotus Esprit S1 ‘Wet Nellie’

Bond film appearance: The Spy Who Love Me (1977)

The most valuable Bond car when compared to a standard model’s value is this 1977 Lotus Esprit S1, better known as ‘Wet Nellie’, that starred in the 1977 movie The Spy Who Loved Me. 

It sold at RM Sotheby’s 2013 London auction for £616,000, a huge 4,908 per cent mark-up over the standard Hagerty Price Guide value of the model at the time. 

Lost after filming, it was rediscovered in a New York storage container in 1989, having been sold for a mere $100 in a blind auction to the next lucky owners.

The iconic Bond Lotus – which was actually bought at the Sotheby’s sale by Elon Musk – wasn’t even a car. It was a film prop submarine used just in underwater scenes. In fact, it doesn’t even have wheels, despite the film’s footage showing the four corners retracting into the bodywork. Still, despite not being drivable on roads, it tops the list of motors here.

*sold for values based on advertised price or highest bid for an unsold lot