"The Real James Bond Cars" – with Top Gear's Jason Barlow

Jun 25, 2024

Jason Barlow, from Top Gear, discusses the iconic James Bond vehicles, covering the 'Bond car' phenomenon, Ian Fleming's car passion, different Bond car nationalities, and the personality of cars. He reflects on pop culture's influence and the charm of classic cars in movies.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

Exploring James Bond's Iconic Cars

01:38 • 19min

Exploring the Cultural Context of 1964 and the Birth of Goldfinger's Aston Martin DB5

20:12 • 4min

Exploring Favorite Bond Cars and Their Unique Features

23:59 • 3min

Comparison between Lotus Esprit and Ferrari F355

26:50 • 3min

Exploring Bond Cars and Their Cultural Impact

30:12 • 26min

Closing Remarks and Teaser for Next Episode

56:12 • 2min

Summary

Jason Barlow (X; Biography) joins Andrew (X; LinkedIn) to discuss the iconic James Bond vehicles. Jason is the longstanding editor-at-large at Top Gear.

What You’ll Learn

Intelligence

How the “Bond car” phenomenon came to be
Ian Fleming’s love for cars
The different “nationalities” of Bond cars
What it’s like to be behind the wheel of some of these iconic cars

Reflections

The making of pop culture
The “personality” of cars

And much, much more …

Quotes of the Week

“Something strange happens in popular culture, where worlds kind of collide and cars assume these sorts of statuses far in excess of what they're actually doing in the movies. I find it fascinating as a process. Nobody can predict how these things are going to go and it's wonderful when these things do happen.” – Jason Barlow.

Resources

SURFACE SKIM

Spotlight Resource

Bond Cars: The Definitive History, Jason Barlow (BBC Books, 2021)

SpyCasts

The Real Ian Fleming with Nicholas Shakespeare (2024)
The James Bond Collector with Mike VanBlaricum (2024)
Bond After Fleming, the Continuation of an Icon with Mark Edlitz (2023)
70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007 (Part 1 of 2) (2023)
70th Anniversary of James Bond, Special with Alexis Albion on 007 (Part 2 of 2) (2023)

Beginner Resources

A Complete List of James Bond Cars, J. Osborn, Man of Many (2023) [List of cars]
Aston Martin DB5 and 007 - A Special Bond, Aston Martin, YouTube (2021) [1 min. video]
Why are cars interesting anyway? R. Meester, Medium (2021) [Short article]

DEEPER DIVE

Cars Mentioned

Wildcard Resource

“Oh Lord, won't you buy me a Mercedes Benz …”
We’ve now firmly established that film can immortalize cars for decades to come. Well, it’s the same in music – Think “Little Red Corvette” by Prince, or “Ol’ 55” by Tom Waits. Perhaps one of the most iconic cars in music is Janis Joplin’s 1964 psychedelic Porsche, now remembered fondly through her 1971 song “Mercedes Benz.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices