10 bargain Bond-car alternatives

Get smart with these cut-price secret agent specials

From kids to pensioners, everyone loves the idea of stepping into James Bond’s shoes.

Stepping into his car, though? That’s easier said than done, because prices of classic Bond tin (and plastic) have climbed in line – and often beyond – other classic values.

Fortunately, more affordable alternatives are available – so here are 10 cool Bond cars and 10 much cheaper substitutes.

Bond car: BMW Z8

Pierce Brosnan’s BMW Z8 met a sticky end, sliced in two by a series of circular saws in The World is Not Enough.

Contemporary road tests also suggested the disappointing handling meant it was half the car it promised, but that hasn’t stopped values soaring. A £150k+ price now makes them too expensive for most pockets.

Bond alternative: BMW Z3

But there’s another retro Z roadster that costs peanuts, in the form of the BMW Z3 – and it was actually driven by Brosnan in an earlier Bond film, Goldeneye.

The handling’s not MX-5 crisp, but skip the basic 1.9 four for a 2.8 or 3-litre straight-six and you’ve got a great budget Z8 alternative for as little as £2k.

Bond car: Ford Mustang Mach 1

By 1971’s Diamonds are Forever, both Sean Connery and the Ford Mustang had packed on the pounds.

That year’s base engine for the Mach 1 performance-themed trim was a weedy 210bhp gross (actually 140bhp in modern ‘net horsepower’ terms), but 007 seems to have wisely gone for the 7-litre 429cu in range topper.

Bond alternative: Ford Capri

Those ’71-’73 Mustang fastbacks are half the price of the ’67-’68s made famous in Bullitt, but you’re still talking £20k+ for a good one, maybe double that for a 429.

But for half that you could get Europe’s version of the same thing: the Ford Capri.

The early 3-litre cars aren’t actually much cheaper than the Mustang, but a 2-litre GT delivers ’70s cool and guzzles fuel much more slowly than 007’s big block V8.

Bond car: Toyota 2000GT

Connery was too tall to fit in the bonsai-cabin of Japan’s first serious sports car, so Toyota lopped the top off for the car’s appearance in 1967’s You Only Live Twice.

Regular customers were never offered a convertible, only a slinky fastback that bore more than a passing resemblance to an E-type. Just 351 were made and they now change hands for north of £500k.

Bond alternative: Triumph GT6

The GT is so pricey it makes even an E-type FHC look good value at £80k – which must be the first time in about 15 years anyone’s called the E-type a bargain.

Still too expensive? Us too, so how about a £16k Triumph GT6, the fastback Spitfire with the Vitesse straight-six – or, for Bond-style open-air thrills, one of the many Spits with the 6’s motor DIY transplanted.

Bond car: Aston Martin DBS

A new Aston for a new Bond. When George Lazenby made his first and only appearance as 007 in On Her Majesty’s Secret Service, he drove Aston’s DB6 replacement, the DBS.

Daniel Craig also drove a DBS for his first Bond outing, Casino Royale, but this one was the modern DB9-based V12. You’ll struggle to pick up a decent example of either for less than £75k.

Bond alternative: Aston Martin DB9

Neither the original DBS or the DB7 are the bargains they once were. Instead, look no further than the DB9, the front-engined V12 introduced in 2003 that’s just on the cusp of classic status.

Early, leggy examples of these 450bhp GTs are threatening to dip below £20k.

Bond car: Range Rover convertible

Q-branch chopped the roof of a Range Rover for Octopussy, and conversions are available if you fancy one yourself.

They’re rare, though, and coupled with the recent rise in demand for classic Range Rovers, you might need to spend £70k or more to find one.

Bond alternative: Volkswagen 181

There’s always the original roofless Land Rover as an alternative open-top SUV, but if you’re looking for something less obvious, and more in keeping with the cold war themes of ’80s Bond films, how about a Beetle-based Volkswagen 181, more commonly known as the Trekker, or Thing, for around £15k?

Bond car: Aston Martin DB5

The most famous of all Bond cars is also one of the most expensive, meaning you’d need to pull off that Goldfinger Fort Knox job to bag one these days.

Good standard DB5s are £500k and you can almost double that for a perfect Vantage.

Bond alternative: MGC GT

But here’s another 1960s six-cylinder British GT you only have to rob the local post office to afford: the MGC GT.

The C’s had plenty of abuse over the years, most of it for looking too much like, and handling far worse than, the MGB it’s based on.

But as a brawny GT in the mould of the DB5, it’s got bags of appeal. Pick up a nice one for less than £20k.

Bond car: Lotus Esprit

Despite the reflected cool of being 007’s side-kick in two Bond films (an aquatic S1 featured in The Spy Who Loved Me and a burgundy Turbo in For Your Eyes Only), Esprits remained affordable for years.

They’re not cheap today, unfortunately: a peachy S1, S2 or early Giugiaro-shape Turbo could set you back more than £30k.

Bond alternative: Lancia Beta Montecarlo

If you like the idea of a 1970s mid-engined wedge, but can’t muster the cash for an Esprit, try a Lancia Beta Montecarlo.

Like the Lotus, it features a twin-cam ‘four’ behind its two seats, looks surprisingly similar, and is likely to give you just as many headaches for around half the outlay.

Bond car: Alfa Romeo GTV6

Roger Moore beasting a V6-engined Alfa GTV in Octopussy to escape the German police is a high point in a film that’s a low point for the Bond franchise.

Beyond Bond, the 2.5-litre GTV6 is famous for its successful career in touring car racing, and today you’ll need to spend up to £20k for a nice one.

Bond alternative: Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV

But if you’re prepared to lop a couple of cylinders off your GTV6 dream by opting for a four-cylinder, 2-litre GTV or Alfetta GT 1.6, you can pick up one of these tidy-handling transaxle Alfas for as little as £7000.

The earlier, small-bumper cars are prettier, anyway.

Bond car: Triumph Stag

Having managed to drive his stolen Triumph Stag to Holland without it boiling up, Connery tools around Amsterdam in Diamonds are Forever, posing as smuggler Peter Franks.

Stag prices are still in the cubic zirconia, rather than diamond realm, but you can easily end up paying £20k for a good example.

Bond alternative: Reliant Scimitar GTC

If you can’t stretch to the Stag, but fancy a ’70s targa-topped front-engined GT, try a Ford V6-powered Reliant Scimitar GTC, the convertible version of the Scimitar introduced in 1980.

Bond car: Bentley 3½-Litre

Bond drove a Bentley, not an Aston, in Ian Fleming’s original books, and a 1935 Bentley DHC makes a brief, static appearance in 1963’s From Russia with Love.

Any thoughts of owning one are likely to be equally brief: you’ll need £150k+ to buy the best.

Bond alternative: Riley Nine Lynx

Here’s our bargain Bond alternative to Connery's Bentley: the Riley Nine Lynx.

Another 1930s sporting Brit from a brand that had notched up successes at Le Mans and Brooklands, the low-slung Lynx tourer should cost you less than £40k.