“James Bond Cars” – Frédéric Brun
And in the “Pretentious Coffee Table Book” department, a hardcover tome
packed with photos, anecdotes and specifications associated with the vehicular
co-stars in the 007 series from “Dr No” to “SPECTRE”, including the oddball
entries like space buggies, tanks, and airplanes. Did I die and go to Heaven
when I unwrapped this baby? Pretty much. Yeah, sure, there are photos of Sean
Connery, George Lazenby, Roger Moore, Timothy Dalton, Pierce Brosnan and Daniel
Craig sprinkled throughout, but … who cares?
Ter
claims that I have an instinct for engineering and I have always had an eye for
automobiles (I remember identifying a Dodge 500 by its rear lights when I was a
little kid in Quebec), so my excitement here is far less surprising than the
giver of the gift—my little tea fairy, Treena, who has no idea at all about
cars beyond trying to avoid being hit by one in a crosswalk (so far, so good).
Whenever I start rhapsodising about the Tesla in the parkade or the Maserati
standing outside the coffee house, she glazes over. But, gods bless her, she
thought of me when she saw this book and I will adore her forever because of
it.
Page
after page of glossy, glorious photos in black and white and in colour, of
Aston Martins in various stages of assembly, blocks of text describing how the
DB5 and beyond became part of the Bond mystique, stories from the drivers and
technicians behind the stunts … and there, on page 81, is a full colour shot of
the Mustang Mach 1 from “Diamonds Are Forever”. The car was a bit player in my
favourite of the 007 films, but it stole the scene it was in by ripping it up
during a chase in Las Vegas. Other Mustangs have appeared in Bond movies—Ford
gave the producers a pre-production model for the scene in “Goldfinger” where
gentleman spy is distracted by pretty girl in white convertible, and a million
new cars were sold as a result.
I’ll
expect nothing but pleasure when I pick up this book to kill the few minutes
between dinner and dishes, but then again, who knows? Inspiration can hit when
one isn’t looking, and a hot car often heralds the introduction of a new
character with a story to tell …
