9. BMW Z3

Starred in:

GoldenEye (1995, Pierce Brosnan) — $143.1 million*

The turquoise blue two-seater convertible roadster got a lot of attention from its cursory appearance as an official Bond car in this film. It generated mixed reviews from 007 fans.

Some consider it one of the most stylish Bond cars up to that time; others dismiss it as lackluster compared to legends like the Aston Martins. There were also grumblings about the fact that its assortment of “Q-outrements” never get road-tested.

Q gives Bond a rundown of the specialized gear — which he refers to as “the standard features.” Except for the radar, none of it is deployed in action. And neither is the car, really.

It is seen briefly when Bond takes a short country drive with Natalya Simonova (played by Izabella Scorupco). The radar detects an approaching object, which turns out to be Jack Wade flying overhead, and Bond soon swaps the wheels for his CIA contact’s small plane.

Despite the less-than-flashy film role, the spirited Z3 created a lot of excitement when it launched and enjoyed feverish demand.

In the early 1990s, the Mazda Miata had sparked a revival of small roadsters, previously absent from the American automotive scene. BMW answered with the Z3, its first roadster to be sold in the U.S. since the 1950s.

BMW used the Bond film to its advantage, marketing a limited run of James Bond Edition Z3s that sold out before ever hitting the market. This Bond-edition Z3 was special only cosmetically; it sported the same turquoise blue paint and tan top used for the car in the film, along with a few other visual flourishes.

The mainstream popularity did little to sway connoisseurs. To true auto enthusiasts, the Z3 lacked appeal, with its small four-cylinder engine. But the carmaker later shoehorned its potent six-cylinder engine into the cute little roadster and concocted a high-performance “M” version, much to the joy of BMW aficionados.

Pierce Brosnan with the Aston Martin DB5

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Eclipsing the Z3 for action in this film is the Aston Martin DB5, as the starring car from two decades earlier makes a return appearance. This top-ranked Bondmobile debuts in 1964’s Goldfinger and commands the opening chase in 1965’s Thunderball. It is revived here, partly to elicit the affection of longtime fans and help them bond with the new Bond in the driver’s seat, Pierce Brosnan.

GoldenEye opens with the DB5 in a thrilling race with a striking yellow Ferrari F355 driven by Xenia Onatopp (played by Famke Janssen).

The Gadgets:

• Stinger missiles behind the headlights
• Self-destruct system
• Bulletproof body
• Radar
• Emergency parachute brakes

Did You Know …

• GoldenEye put Bond in his first German car. Mindful that it might disgruntle some fans (which it surely did), BMW seemed to play up the company’s British connection via a purchase of the Rover Group. There was also some press about the car coming from a new production plant in the U.S.