5. Aston Martin V12 Vanquish

Starred in:

• Die Another Day (2002, Pierce Brosnan) — $160.2 million*

Bond’s badass Vanquish V12 battles a sleek and ferocious Jaguar XKR convertible — on ice.

This is one of the few films where the bad guys (or girls, as the case may be) get a car so well-armed with inventive gadgets that it can go missile for missile with a Bondmobile.

Bond wields a thunderous V12 Vanquish, specially outfitted for wintry conditions. His artillery includes 9-millimeter machine guns mounted behind a retractable grille, two guns in the front hood and heat-seeking missiles.

Jaguar XKR with Gatling gun

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The Jaguar gets a Gatling gun mounted behind the front seats, missiles that fire from behind the grille, rocket launchers in the doors and bombs in the trunk.

But the Vanquish does the ultimate high-tech trick: It becomes invisible.

Some consider this to be among the most memorable car-chase scenes in film. And the car itself stole as many hearts as an action hero.

The Vanquish is based on Aston Martin's DB9, modern successor to the classic DB5. As its name suggests, the Vanquish is all about smiting everything else on the road, both in style and performance. Its bulging bodywork is like a DB9 on steroids. But it manages not to be overly macho and retains some British elegance, especially in its luxurious interior. The Vanquish ceases production this year to make way for a new top-dog Aston Martin, the DBS, which stars alongside Daniel Craig in Casino Royale.

Machine guns in the hood of Bond's Vanquish

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The Gadgets:

• Cloaking device that enables invisibility
• Passenger ejector seat
• Two machine guns mounted behind a retractable grille
• Guns that emerge from the hood
• Heat-seeking missiles
• Studded tires (suited to driving on ice)

Did You Know …

• So impressed was Pierce Brosnan with his car co-star that he reportedly bought a Vanquish for himself.

• Bond girl Jinx (played by Halle Berry) drove a 2002 Ford Thunderbird in the film. For a special “007 edition” of the Thunderbird, Ford produced a limited run of 700 vehicles, which features a coral exterior and white leather interior like Jinx’s car in the film.

• Before the film was released, Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer mentioned in a press release that Aston Martin already had more than 700 buyers around the world on a waiting list for its new V12 Vanquish, which had a U.S. price tag of $228,000.

• Bond’s Vanquish has a Tungsten Silver exterior and Charcoal leather interior.

• Madonna, who wrote and performed the theme song for this film, makes a cameo as Bond’s fencing teacher.

• This film was released in 2002, marking the 40th anniversary of the Bond series. It pays homage to that history by incorporating references to all the previous 19 official Bond films and some Ian Fleming novels.

• Bond briefly drives a 1957 Ford Fairlane in the film